Profits up as Morrisons prepares for online move
SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons has posted pre-tax profits of £935m as like-for-like sales grew by 1.8% despite the squeeze on consumer spending.
The Bradford-based company also said it was on track to launch its new online offering, Morrisons.com, later this year.
Morrisons opened 34 new supermarkets in the last year and saw customer numbers grow by 400,000 a week leading to a 7% increase in turnover to £17.7bn.
Debt leapt from £817m to £1.47bn after a string of major investments, such as the acquisition of Kiddicare.
Chief executive Dalton Philips said: “This has been Morrisons best year yet with another good financial performance and growth ahead of the market.
“Customers were having a tough time but we responded with a new M savers brand for budget conscious shoppers, promotions that customers understood, and industry leading service.
“We know that 2012 will be tough, and we will be working hard to deliver even better value for our customers. At the same time, we have ambitious plans for the long term development of the business, through new supermarkets, convenience stores and the development of our multi-channel capabilities. I am confident that Morrisons will make further progress this year.”
Morrisons is in the process of trialling its first three ‘convenience format’ stores and has plans to open more this year.
