17th Mar 2005 07:04
Morrison(Wm.)Supermarkets PLC17 March 2005 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc 17th March 2005 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc confirm that they will be announcing theirpreliminary results for the year ended 30 January 2005 next Wednesday 23rd March2005 at 7.00am. The results will show an operating profit in the range of £380m to £390m afterdepreciation of £265m but before approximately £100m of exceptional costs,relating to costs associated with store conversion and redundancy payments. Interest payable in the year will be c.£60m. Consequently, profit before tax, exceptional items and property disposal profitsare expected to be in the range of £320m to £330m. This outcome is below thatindicated in our Christmas trading update issued on 11 January 2005. This shortfall arises from our review, as part of the annual audit process, ofSafeway supplier balances and follows issues encountered with the Safewayaccounting systems during 2004. Following a meeting of the Audit Committee on 16th March it has been agreed thata £40m provision will be included in these results until the treatment of thesedebit balances has been determined. No further comment will be made until the release of the full year results nextweek, at which time the Company will also provide an update on the current yearoutlook, including the success of the Safeway conversion process, in anincreasingly competitive marketplace. ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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