Morrisons drinks raise quarterly sales

A “successful category reset” in Morrisons’ alcohol division helped the British retailer achieve its first quarterly sales rise in over a year.

Morrisons total sales were down 1.2% as a result of fewer multi-buy promotions, but like-for-likes are up (Photo: Morrisons)

Morrisons saw a 0.2% jump in like-for-like grocery sales in the nine weeks to 3 January, with premium products and its Beer Wine and Spirits sector performing better than expected.

Price cuts drove deflation by 3.2% in the period, but fewer multi-save promotions did drive down total sales, which were down 1.2%.

David Potts, Morrisons chief executive, said he was “pleased” with the performance over the busy Christmas period.

“While there is of course much more to do, we are making important progress in improving all aspects of the shopping trip, and our customers tell us they are pleased with the changes.

“In addition, we have made further progress in debt reduction, and our financial position is strong and getting stronger,” he said.

The company, which is the fourth biggest grocery retailer in the UK, expects full-year profits to be in the region of £295m-£310m before costs of roughly £60m closing stores and restructuring the business.