Morrisons has plunged further into the red after a £1bn loss last year amid a surge in interest payments.

Market Topco, Morrison's parent company, made a pre-tax loss of £1.1bn in the year ending October 31, after racking up £735m in interest costs.

The supermarket chain, acquired by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in 2021, has struggled to attract the customer of late after dropping to Britain's fifth best grocer, now also behind Aldi.

Interest rates were low at the time of CD&R's takeover, though a sharp rise in borrowing costs has made things increasingly challenging for Morrisons.

Market Topco's overall results show underlying profits (excluding debt interest costs) of £970m, a rise from £911m in the year previous, while revenue fell £300m to £18.4bn.

Fuel sales jumped by more than half a billion to £3.4bn, prior to the company selling its petrol forecourts to Motor Fuel in a deal worth £2.5bn.

It's expected some of that money will be used to pay down its £5.4bn debt pile.

A Morrisons spokesman remained positive, saying: "The underlying performance of the business is strong."

FTSE 100

The UK's flagship share index, the FTSE 100, was up five-points, at 7,752 shortly after opening this morning.

Brent crude oil futures was up 0.34% today, trading at $82.20 a barrel.

Companies reporting today

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  • Balfour Beatty- Full Year Results
  • Ferrexpo - Full Year Results
  • Hochschild Mining - Full Year Results
  • Industria de Diseno Textil - Full Year Results
  • IP Group - Full Year Results
  • Keywords Studios - Full Year Results
  • Supermarket Income REIT - Half Year Results

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