Morrisons sees profits for 2009 up 30% beating forecasts
Morrisons sees profits for 2009 exceeding expectations, up 30 per cent
Thursday, 11, Mar 2010 12:55
By Sarah Garrod.
UK supermarket chain Morrison has seen its profits for 2009 surge 30 per cent, beating financial forecasts.
The firm said like-for-like sales, excluding fuel and VAT, were up six per cent, with profit before tax at £858 million in 2009, compared to 2008's £655 million.
Underlying profits were up 21 per cent, the firm announced, at £767 million, while weekly customer numbers rose by seven per cent and there were 43 new stores created - making 10,000 new jobs available.
Sir Ian Gibson, non-executive chairman, said: "Morrisons had another good year. Once again our focus on fresh food and great value appealed to shoppers everywhere, and we have successfully grown sales and profits to record levels.
"We expect the economic environment to remain challenging, disposable incomes to be under pressure and value to remain a high priority for consumers. The board believes that Morrisons unique offer of high quality, fresh food at great value prices will continue to attract customers from our competitors and drive market share growth in the year ahead."
Dalton Philips will take up his role as our new chief executive of the supermarket chain on March 29th.