Overview
- The group confirmed it shut 100 loss-making Morrisons Daily sites last month and disclosed it opened 30 new Daily franchise stores in the latest quarter, with plans for hundreds more.
- Like-for-like sales rose 2.2% in the 13 weeks to April 26 and total sales reached £4 billion, while underlying first-half earnings increased 5.7% to £323 million.
- Morrisons recorded a further £48 million of savings in the quarter, taking cumulative cost cuts to £942 million and putting the company close to its £1 billion target.
- Management says its £3.1 billion debt has fallen materially since 2023 and it is considering selling about £1 billion of property to speed de-leveraging, a move that could fund more debt reduction.
- CEO Rami Baitiéh warned trading remains highly competitive, cited risks from input-cost inflation linked to Morrisons’ vertically integrated supply chain, and warned the group faces pressure after Lidl overtook it in market rankings.