Morrisons profits soar amidst sales boom
Morrisons has seen “another good year” as profits leapt 21% and sales hit record levels.
In the year ended January 31st, the supermarket group saw pre-tax profits rise to £858 million, with underlying profits up 21% to £767 million.
Morrisons attributed its success to its focus on “fresh food and great value” and to the completion of its optimisation plan, which was first launched four years ago.
The Bradford-based grocer saw turnover rise 6% to £15.4 billion, with weekly average customer numbers up 7%.
Morrisons said it put in place 30,000 price cuts during the year in order to weather the economic storm and "delivered a promotional programme that enabled our customers to save money whilst eating good fresh food".
Sales of its own label value range rose 34% in the year, while sales of premium organic and fairtrade products declined.
Christmas trading saw a surge for the firm as it outperformed the market for the fourth year in a row during the festive season, putting larger rivals in the shade.
Commenting on the results, Sir Ian Gibson, non-executive chairman, said: “We completed delivery of the optimisation plan first launched four years ago, and we are well on the way to cementing our position as the food specialist for everyone. The opening of 43 new stores in the year accelerated our journey from national to nationwide.
“We expect the economic environment to remain challenging, disposable incomes to be under pressure and value to remain a high priority for consumers. The board believes that Morrisons unique offer of high quality, fresh food at great value prices will continue to attract customers from our competitors and drive market share growth in the year ahead. For the longer term, we will continue to utilise our balance sheet strength to invest for growth, with new space, new manufacturing capability and new systems priorities in the year ahead”.
He added that he was pleased to welcome Dalton Philips, the new CEO, to the company. Mr Philips will take up his role on March 29th.
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