Morrisons recovery in sight

Wm Morrison today reported progress during the full year and announced details of a £450m investment programme.

Full-year profit before tax came in at £369m including property profits of £39m.The group said its new financial year has begun slowly, with like for like sales excluding fuel growing at 3.4 per cent , lagging behind the momentum seen last year. Following a much anticipated business review, the company said that it will invest around £450m on top of its normal annual capital requirements, estimated to be £400m including its new store programme.

It anticipates that the firm will deliver £200m of annual profit enhancement by 2010, more than the first phase of the Optimisation Plan announced last year.

“We remain at the early stages of our profit recovery, but I believe that good foundations have been laid as demonstrated by delivering the first stage of our Optimisation Plan,” said chairman Ken Morrison.