Cost of living crunch sinks teeth into Morrisons profit
Morrisons has posted sliding sales after the retailer was recently knocked out of the Big Four by discounter rival Aldi.
In financial results for the 13 weeks to 31 July, the group posted like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, down 3.1 per cent on the comparable period a year ago.
The supermarket pointed to “unprecedented inflationary pressures” in its food manufacturing operations after it posted adjusted EBITDA of £177m, sinking below the £356m posted last year.
Including fuel sales, the group saw like-for-like sales up 4.3 per cent.
“It’s clear that the cost of living crisis is starting to change customer shopping patterns in many ways,” David Potts, Morrisons chief executive, said.
“The speed, scale and severity of cost and energy price increases, exacerbated by the terrible war in Ukraine, had significant impacts through the quarter, but the market is still growing and the energy price guarantee will ease pressure on consumers.”
Just yesterday, the supermarket announced that its chief operating officer Trevor Strain would be stepping down.