Supermarket chain Morrisons (LSE:MRW) climbed 3% higher, bucking the trend of the FTSE 100 which was down 1.3% in morning trading, after the company released better than expected preliminary results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2008.
Financial highlights included a 12% rise in group turnover of £14.5 billion, a 7.9% jump in like for like sales, excluding fuel, and profit before of £655 million compared to £612 million in 2007. Morrison’s gearing climbed slightly to 14% and the total dividend rose 21% to 5.8 pence. The results were in stark contrast to many FTSE 100 companies who have reported higher debt and lower dividends to help conserve cash. Morrison’s peers in the FTSE 100, Sainsbury’s (LSE: SBRY) and Tesco (LSE: TSCO) did not benefit from the good numbers, both falling slightly.
Morrison’s said that its “Optimisation Plan” was on track and said it planned to add an additional 500,000 square feet of space in 2010/2011 as it continues to transform itself from a national supermarket to a nationwide company.
Looking ahead, Britain’s fourth largest supermarket group said it continued to view the short and long term outlook “positively”.
“Our focus on fresh food and value appeals to shoppers everywhere and provides a strong platform to take Morrisons from national to nationwide,” said Marc Bolland, CEO.