Struggling supermarket giant WM Morrison (MRW) has suffered a tough Christmas, posting poor results over the important holiday trading period.
In a trading update covering the six weeks to 30 December, like-for-like sales were down by 2.5 per cent excluding fuel. Total sales over the same period were down 0.9 per cent.
The company conceded that sales performance was disappointing, saying the weak figures highlighted the need to accelerate the development of its embryonic online and convenience store offerings. Morrison has been slow to innovate compared with its peers. In contrast to Sainsbury's and Tesco, it has only just started to roll out convenience stores and does not yet sell food online.
Chief executive Dalton Philips said market conditions would remain tough throughout 2013, but insisted the business remained sound, with "significant opportunities" to advance its strategy. The company expects full-year net debt of between £2.1bn and £2.2bn and full-year performance to be broadly in line with expectations.
Broker Seymour Pierce has downgraded its 2013 pre-tax profit forecast by 1 per cent to £880m, giving EPS of 26.6p, falling to £850m and 25.9p in 2014.
