21st Jul 2009 07:00
Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Market Update
Strategy bearing fruit for Morrisons
Ahead of the completion of its first six months trading for the 2009/10 financial year, Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC provides the following market update:
The Q1 Interim Management Statement reported that despite strong prior year comparative figures, the Group had achieved sales growth well ahead of the market.
The strong start to the year has been maintained through the second quarter. An increasing number of customers are shopping with Morrisons attracted by the Group's fresh offering, keen positioning on price and promotions and its industry leading service and availability. This provides a solid base for the remainder of the year.
The resultant volume growth is helping to deliver operating leverage through supply chain benefits. Together with better than projected improvements from our Optimisation Plan margin initiatives, our ex-fuel gross margin for the full year is now expected to exceed our original plan by approximately 40 bps.
The remaining Optimisation Plan initiatives are progressing well and are also expected to exceed our expectations, by £20m.
The business' performance to date, the successful implementation of the Optimisation Plan and its continuing customer growth now give the Board confidence that the company's full year results will be ahead of its earlier expectations.
Ends
Enquiries:
Investor Relations
Niall Addison - Investor Relations Director 07764 624701
Media Relations
Wm Morrison Supermarkets: Gillian Hall 0845 611 5359
Citigate Dewe Rogerson: Simon Rigby 020 7638 9571
Sarah Gestetner
Kevin Smith
There will be an analyst conference call at 8 a.m. today.
Participants dial in line: +44 (0)20 3003 2666
Password: Morrisons
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