Morrisons profits hit £2.1bn after trimming 3,600 roles last year
It comes after the supermarket closed over 50 of its cafes in a bid to cut costs, which put more than 365 jobs at risk
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Morrisons has revealed that it cut 3,600 jobs as it returned to profit for the first time since its private equity takeover in 2021.
According to accounts filed with Companies House, the company posted a pre-tax profit of £2.1bn for the year ended October 2024, compared to a loss of £919m the previous year and £1.3bn the year before.
However, the company reduced its headcount from 104,819 to 101,144 during the period, following job cuts of 8,800 the year before.
The supermarket’s store staff numbers fell from 88,258 to 85,508, manufacturing roles dropped from 7,865 to 7,612, distribution staff went down from 5,783 to 5,424, and head office employees also fell from 2,913 to 2,600.
Despite the increase in profits the company’s revenue actually declined from £18.3bn to £17bn. This came even though its like-for-like sales rose 3.9%.
Morrisons total sales grew 4.2% to £3.9bn in the second quarter of the current financial year while its underlying EBITDA increased 7.2% in the first half to £344m.
CEO Rami Baitiéh said: “Against the backdrop of a challenging macro environment, with inflation driving subdued consumer sentiment, value remains at the forefront of customers’ minds. Throughout the first half, we’ve worked hard on helping customers through these challenges with a rigorous focus on price, promotions and meaningful rewards for loyalty.”
Last month, Morrisons revealed it had cut its debt by £261m after completing a refinancing deal that also extends the maturity of its loans.
The supermarket chain said it had issued a £930m equivalent sterling and euro bond maturing in January 2031, secured a new £450m term loan maturing in November 2030, and repurchased £1.19bn of sterling and euro bonds due in 2027 along with £450m of unsecured notes.
The latest refinancing brings the total debt repaid since Morrisons was acquired by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) in October 2021 to £2.7bn. The retailer said it now has £3.5bn of outstanding debt.
