Morrisons profits hit by pandemic costs
Morrisons saw its pre-tax before exceptional items drop by 50.7% to £201 million in the year to 31 January.
While total revenue was up 0.4% to £17.6 billion in the period, group like-for-like sales climbed by 8.6%.
Morrisons said profit was significantly impacted by direct costs relating to the Covid-19 pandemic which amounted to £290 miilion. Profit was also hit by the temporary closure of the retailer’s profitable cafés due to lockdown restrictions.
Andrew Higginson, Morrisons chairman, said: “This has been a year where Morrisons resilience has been severely tested and I could not be more proud of the way the whole business has met that test. As we look forward to brighter times ahead, Morrisons is developing into a stronger, better business with deeper and closer relationships with our customers and the communities we serve.”
