Morrisons has reported a continued increase in sales as it makes progress with its “plans to develop a broader, stronger Morrisons”.
Group like-for-like sales excluding fuel grew 1% and total sales excluding fuel rose by 3.1% to £3.7bn in the 13 weeks to April 30.
Group revenue declined 0.9% to £4.5bn, reflecting lower fuel sales year on year, while wholesale channels saw sales leap by 20%.
The grocer said it continued with its programme of “large-scale price cutting campaigns, complemented by quick, tactical price cuts in areas where we can see the early signs of inflation easing”.
Underlying EBITDA for this period was down 10.7% to £394m, which reflected “sustained investment in price and continuing significant inflationary headwinds”.
EBITDA is expected to be up at the end of the year and for debt to be lower with continued confidence in the £500m medium-term working capital improvements and £700m three-year cost-reduction programme.
Morrisons chief executive David Potts said: “The momentum we reported in the first quarter has continued with further progress in our like-for-like sales and in our price competitiveness. We also saw significant improvements in the key measures of customer satisfaction, availability and value for money.
“Inflation remains disappointingly and stubbornly high, which means that customers are still very much on a budget. But our customers still wanted to celebrate important events and this quarter included Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, Easter, Eid and the build-up to the Coronation weekend. These events are an area of traditional strength for Morrisons where we can leverage our unique food-making and flower operations to help customers celebrate with good quality and great value.
“Convenience continues to be a strong area of focus and growth for the business. We now have almost 650 Morrisons Daily stores – around 400 of which are former McColl’s − and converted stores continue to see a significant sales uplift as we work through the McColl’s estate. By the year-end, we expect to have almost 1,000 Morrisons Daily stores trading and a significantly enhanced position in the important UK convenience sector.
“The launch of our new loyalty programme, now called the More Card, was an important moment for the business, bringing back the much-loved Morrisons Fivers in a points-based scheme, together with a rolling programme of eye-catching deals that are exclusive to More Card customers. The new scheme is a significantly more competitive and compelling loyalty programme and the early feedback from customers has been excellent with a substantial increase in active participants.
“At our food-making sites, our stores and in our offices, those on the front line have once again played the leading role in the improving picture at Morrisons and I want to thank them for their continued great work and professionalism.”
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