Morrisons, the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket retailer, said today (24 May) that underlying first-quarter sales had risen 4%.
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Chairman Sir Ken Morrison said the company made “steady progress” during the 15 weeks to 20 May.
“Our expectations for full-year profitability remain unchanged,” Sir Ken said. In March, Morrisons said it would invest GBP450m (US$894m) in a three-year drive to boost profits by GBP200m a year by 2010.
Sir Ken said an inquiry by UK competition watchdogs into the grocery sector will now not be concluded until the first quarter of next year.
“We share some of the Commission’s concerns about the competitive landscape and are co-operating fully with their inquiry,” he said.
“We cannot predict the outcome of the investigation but if local competition turns out to be the main issue, as the smallest of the big four food retailers we may have the opportunity to exploit locations where we are not currently represented.”
