Morrisons sales growth continues but slows in second quarter
Morrisons has reported its 14th consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth with an uplift of 2.2%.
However, the second quarter growth was slower than in the first when like-for-likes increased by 2.8% after improved festive trading.
Subscribe to TRBTotal sales in the 13 weeks to 26 April rose by 1.7% to £4 billion despite a “highly competitive” market. Underlying EBITDA in the retailer’s first half was up 5.7% to £323 million.
Rami Baitiéh, Morrisons chief executive, said: “Against the challenging backdrop, I’m pleased with the performance we have delivered in Q2; a fourteenth consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth; underlying EBITDA up, strong improvements in customer experience in our supermarkets, cafes and online with significant increases in net promoter score; good further progress with our cost saving programme and market share on an improving trend.”
The retailer opened 30 new Morrisons Daily franchise stores in the quarter, which meant 52 were launched in the first half. It also made progress with its online offering with double digit sales growth.
Morrisons said it made a further £48 million of cost savings, taking the total to £942 million since the start of the programme, as it looks to reach a target of £1 billion.
Looking ahead, Baitiéh said: “Trading conditions remain highly competitive. We have made an encouraging start to the third quarter and have strong plans in place to make the most of the World Cup and Father’s Day.
“While more recent international news creates some grounds for optimism, we continue to monitor the impact of input inflation very closely and we remain committed to doing whatever we can to help keep prices down for customers.”
