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Morrisons has seen like-for-like sales grow by 3.0% in its third quarter, despite rising inflation and “challenging” macroeconomic conditions, marking the eleventh consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth.
Over the period, total sales rose by 3.5% to £4.0bn, bolstered by a strong online performance which saw double-digit like-for-like growth, making Morrisons the fastest growing online grocery business in the market in Q3.
In its latest update, the group said it was looking to support customers amid continued food price inflation through recently announced price cuts on 650 everyday items alongside tailored promotions.
It has also introduced over 400 new products this week with the roll-out of new Fresh ranges, marking the “biggest range reset in a decade”.
Elsewhere, it said it has reduced costs by £63m over the period, and expects to achieve £1bn in cost savings by the end of FY26.
CEO Rami Baitiéh said: “Consumers are feeling the squeeze and we are continuing to work hard to help our customers make the most of stretched household budgets, staying true to Morrisons values of providing good affordable fresh food for all.
“As we do this, we are also managing the incremental impact of the Autumn budget and other Government legislation, which has created significant cost headwinds, some of which were unexpected at the start of the financial year.”
He added: “In Q4 inflation has increased further and we are adapting and adjusting to make sure we continue to offer the best value – cutting prices for all customers, tailoring promotions and offering More Card customers even better rewards for their loyalty.
“Last week we cut prices on 650 everyday items and this week we launched over 400 new products as part of our biggest Fresh range launch for a decade. All of this will help Morrisons customers make their hard earned money go further as we head towards the peak Christmas trading period.”
CFO Jo Goff said: “We delivered a resilient performance in Q3 in tough market conditions and with significant external cost headwinds. We also made further progress with our capital structure, completing a material refinancing which further reduced gross debt, and proactively extended maturities to 2031.
“We have now repaid a total of £2.7bn of debt since the acquisition of the business by CD&R, bringing the current debt figure down by around 43% from £6.2bn to £3.5bn.”
She added: “As we continue to face significant cost headwinds we are also making good progress with our cost reduction programme and remain confident of reaching our recently increased target of £1bn in total cost savings by the end of FY26.”
