British supermarket group Morrisons forecast a return to earnings growth this year as a push to improve its price competitiveness starts to win back shoppers battling an escalating cost-of-living crisis.
Morrisons, owned since 2021 by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, was overtaken as Britain's fourth-largest grocer by market share by German-owned discounter Aldi last September, according to researcher Kantar.
Monthly industry data has consistently shown the group underperforming rivals including market leader Tesco and No. 2 Sainsbury's.
But David Potts, chief executive said that the company's focus since October on becoming more competitive on key products had started to bear fruit, and further work on prices would attract customers this year.
"Our competitive position in the market has improved significantly throughout the last few months," he told reporters, highlighting a programme since October of price cuts on essential products, price freezes and fuel promotions.
"Customers are noticing and starting to vote with their feet."
That gave Potts confidence that earnings would grow this year, despite continued cost and other inflationary headwinds.
Christmas Trading
He said improved sales momentum was evident in the new (2022-23) financial year with sales in the three weeks before Christmas up 2.5% year-on-year.
Tesco and Sainsbury's both reported better-than-expected Christmas trading.
Morrisons has a UK grocery market share of 9.1% but differs from its main rivals in that it also has its own production operations, making half of the fresh food it sells.
Retailers in Britain are competing to draw in increasingly price-conscious shoppers.
With UK household finances squeezed by inflation that stood at 10.5% in December, consumer confidence is close to historic lows.
British consumer spending in December saw its steepest year-on-year drop in at least 25 years, according to official data.
Drop In Core Earnings
In the financial year to 30 October, Morrisons reported a 15% drop in core earnings (EBITDA) to £828 million ($1.03 billion).
While total revenue was up 2.2% to £18.4 billion, underlying sales fell 4.2%.
Analysts have suggested that Morrisons' debt burden following CD&R's £7 billion purchase has impacted its ability to be competitive on prices.
Read More: Morrisons' McColl's Store Sale Paves Way For Deal Clearance
But finance chief Joanna Goff said net debt would fall in the current year, supported by an increase in earnings, an increased focus on cash, including lower capital spend, and a plan to improve working capital by 500 million pounds over the medium term.
News by Reuters, edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more retail stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
