Morrisons, the UK’s fourth-largest grocer, today (12 March) booked a 7% rise in annual profits as the retailer continued to appeal to cash-conscious consumers.

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The company, which holds around 12% of UK grocery sales, reported pre-tax profits of GBP655m (US$899.5m) for the year to 1 February – up from GBP612m a year earlier.


Annual revenues climbed 12% to GBP14.5bn, while like-for-like sales rose 7.9%, Morrisons said. Underlying earnings per share rose 16% to 16.7p.


Chief executive Marc Bolland said: “Our focus on fresh food and value appeals to shoppers everywhere and provides a strong platform to take Morrisons from national to nationwide.”


Morrisons cited data from researchers TNS that it claimed showed the retailer’s share of the UK grocery market rose from 12.1% to 12.3% during the company’s fiscal year.

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Looking ahead, Morrisons said it expects “the competitive landscape to be extremely challenging” but said it viewed its short- and long-term outlook “positively”.


Morrisons said it expects to open around 350,000 square feet of new retail space in the coming year above of the 500,000 sq ft acquired from fellow retailer The Co-operative Group.


Keith Bowman, equity analyst at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown, said Morrisons’ results revealed “few surprises” but insisted the retailer “retains momentum”.


“Sales growth remains impressive, whilst profits have made solid progress and the group’s finances display rock solid characteristics,” Bowman said. “The current dire economic backdrop continues to play into the company’s hands.”


Morrisons shares were up 0.4% at 246.75p at 08:45 GMT this morning.