Morrisons outperforms market yet again with turnover of £15.4 billion

MORRISONS yesterday hailed "another good year" with profits climbing 21 per cent and sales hitting record levels as the UK's fourth-largest supermarket chain "continues its journey from national to nationwide", writes Peter Ranscombe

The group opened 43 outlets in the year, taking its total to 425, and it plans to keep expanding its store base.

Morrisons now estimates that seven million households are within a 15-minute drive of its stores.

The grocer reported pre-tax profits of 767 million for the 12 months to 31 January, up from 636m in the previous year.

Morrisons, which said it expects economic conditions to remain challenging this year, saw like-for-like sales growth slow across the period to 6 per cent, compared with 8.2 per cent during the year before.

Turnover rose by 6 per cent to 15.4 billion.

The group's growth strategy was put in place by former boss Marc Bolland, who has left to join Marks & Spencer.

Last year presented a challenge for UK supermarkets as the recession squeezed consumers' wallets. But Morrisons said it put in place 30,000 price cuts during the year and "delivered a promotional programme that enabled customers to save money whilst eating good fresh food".

Sales of its own-label value range rose 34 per cent in the year, while sales of premium organic and fair-trade goods declined.

The chain outperformed its larger rivals during Christmas, outperforming the market for the fourth year in a row.

Chairman Sir Ian Gibson yesterday welcomed the firm's new chief executive, Dalton Philips, who takes up his post later this month.

Philips is a relative unknown in UK retail but has plenty of grocery experience as a former executive of US giant Wal-Mart and chief operating officer of Canadian food group Loblaw.