Supermarket’s Turnaround Continues Amidst Declining Profits

  • Morrisons reports third consecutive year of sales growth
  • Profits before tax drop by 15.8% to £320m from £380m in 2018
  • Like-for-like sales increase by 4.8%
  • Dividend reward increased to £289m, up from £129m last year
  • Revenues rise to £17.7bn from £17.3bn
  • Underlying profits for the year up 8.6% to £406m
  • Customer satisfaction increases by 20 percentage points in four years

Big Four supermarket Morrisons has reported an increase in sales for the third consecutive year, with like-for-like sales up by 4.8% compared to last year. However, profits before tax dropped by 15.8% to £320m from £380m in 2018 due to annual costs of £86m. The company displayed confidence in its outlook with a dividend reward of £289m, up from last year’s £129m. This resulted in a final dividend of 4.75p per share and a special dividend of 4p per share. Morrisons’ revenues increased to £17.7bn from £17.3bn, and its underlying profits for the year rose by 8.6% to £406m. Chairman Andrew Higginson expressed delight at the strong sales and profit growth, while CEO David Potts highlighted the focus on improving customer satisfaction through friendliness and expertise of staff.

Factuality Level: 10
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate information about Morrisons’ sales increase, profit decrease, dividend reward, revenue growth, and customer satisfaction improvement without any irrelevant or misleading details, sensationalism, redundancy, or personal perspective presented as a fact. It also includes quotes from key figures in the company.
Noise Level: 6
Noise Justification: The article provides relevant information about Morrisons’ financial performance and customer satisfaction, but it lacks in-depth analysis or exploration of the factors behind the increase in sales and profit growth. It also does not offer any actionable insights or solutions for other businesses.
Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: Morrisons (supermarket company)
Financial Rating Justification: The article discusses financial results, profits, dividends, and sales growth of the supermarket company Morrisons, which impacts its financial markets and performance.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: No
Extreme Rating Justification: There is no mention of an extreme event in the last 48 hours.

Reported publicly: www.retailsector.co.uk