22nd Jan 2008 07:01
Morrison(Wm.)Supermarkets PLC22 January 2008 Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Pre close statement and Christmas sales update - 22 January 2008 A strong Christmas for Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC reports a pre close update ahead of its financialyear end of 3 February 2008. Trading Like for like sales in the 6 weeks to 6 January 2008 were up by 9.5% excludingfuel (11.3% including fuel). During this period total sales increased by 11.6%(13.6% including fuel). These results were boosted by the introduction of ournew discount scheme for colleagues in November, which contributed approximately1.5% to the ex fuel sales figures. At the time of our interim results in September, we signalled that in the secondhalf we would be launching our new advertising campaign with its focus on freshfood, sharpening our prices and offering great promotional deals in the run-upto Christmas. These initiatives brought more customers into our stores, withover 4.0m extra customer visits over the six week Christmas period. We hadexcellent availability throughout and saw record levels of trade across the 375stores in our estate. Commenting on the results, Marc Bolland, CEO, said: "I am delighted with ourChristmas performance. We welcomed significantly more customers to our stores,and they were well served with attractive offers and great fresh food. Thesestrong results are further evidence that our rigorous focus on freshness,service and value is striking a chord with shoppers." These results confirm steady progress in the delivery of our three yearOptimisation Plan, albeit we are still at a relatively early stage with much todo throughout the business. We believe we are well on track to deliver ourvision of being the food specialist for everyone. Outlook We are encouraged by our sales performance, which has built momentum steadilythrough the second half of the year. This is reflected in the Board's confidencethat the full year profit outturn for 2007/08 is likely to be at the top end ofits expectations. This is also due to a deferral of costs of approximately £30mrelating to the implementation of the Optimisation Plan, originally assumed forthis year, but which will now fall into the new financial year. We expect the market to remain competitive and we are cautious on the outlookfor consumer spending. However, we believe that our strong value credentialswill serve us well in these conditions. Enquiries: Wm Morrison SupermarketsMark Bolland - Chief Executive 0845 611 5000Richard Pennycook - Finance Director Investor RelationsNiall Addison - Investor Relations Director 07764 624701 Media RelationsWm Morrison Supermarkets: Gillian Hall 0845 611 5359Citigate Dewe Rogerson: Jonathan Clare 020 7638 9571 Simon Rigby Sarah Gestetner There will be an analyst conference call at 9am today. Participants dial in line: +44 (0)1452 552018Pin number: 28467617# Replay facility: +44 (0) 1452 55 00 00Replay Access Number: 28467617 # This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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