Morrisons like for like sales rose by 2.5% in its first quarter to 1 May, excluding fuel and VAT.

Total sales were up 4.2% in the period on the same basis. Including fuel, total sales were up 7.3% and like-for-likes up 5.8%.

The retailer claimed that the growth was ahead of the market, and that its ‘Biggest Ever Price Crunch’, ‘Fuel Britannia’ and ‘Let’s Celebrate’ promotions had helped attract a record number of customers into its stores despite an economic backdrop it described as “challenging”.

The company added that despite remaining cautious on the consumer outlook, it remained on course to meet profit expectations and to deliver on the strategic objectives outlined by chief executive Dalton Philips in March. It also updated on its £1bn share buyback, saying to date 24.7m shares had been acquired at a cost of £68.7m.

Jeffries analyst James Grzinic described the update as “very strong,” adding that the update “confirms that Morrison continues to outgrow quoted peers by at least 100bps, we believe”.

 

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