British supermarket chain Morrisons has announced a 2.9% rise in group like-for-like (LFL) sales, excluding fuel and value-added tax (VAT), in the third quarter (Q3) of fiscal year 2023/24.
This performance, primarily driven by volume, matches the growth rate achieved in the same period of the previous year.
The retailer's total sales, excluding fuel, reached £3.9bn ($5.21bn) for the quarter, marking a 2.1% increase from Q3 of fiscal 2022/23.
Notably, the clothing brand Nutmeg experienced an 8% rise in LFL sales, with Back to School sales surging 23%.
Morrisons has seen a year-on-year improvement in availability by 2% points, supported by the deployment of AI-powered availability cameras in 400 stores.
The retailer also continued to invest in Myton Food Group’s food-making operations, evidenced by opening a new £13m sardine processing factory in Cornwall.
The company has expanded its Aldi and Lidl Price Match scheme, adding 50 products to bring the total to almost 300.
Significant investment has also been made in the Morrisons More Card, with the launch of 2,000 More Card prices in August and September.
In terms of employee welfare, colleague pay will be increased to £12 an hour starting from October 2024, representing an annualised investment in colleague pay of £151m.
Morrisons chief financial officer Jo Goff said: "Every part of Morrisons - supermarkets, online, convenience, wholesale and Myton Food Group - showed good growth in the quarter, representing a robust performance across a diversified business.
"Today we have also announced a ground debt transaction with net proceeds of £331m. The properties will remain under Morrisons' control and our retail estate remains over 80% freehold.
“This transaction follows the deleveraging from the disposal of our forecourt business at the start of the quarter, and if the proceeds from this transaction were also used to reduce debt, on a pro-forma basis, our debt would be £3.6bn, down 41% from its peak.
“Looking ahead to the full year, we expect increased EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation] and further operational progress across the board.”
In August 2024, Morrisons unveiled a substantial price reduction on a range of products for its More Card customers.
