Shares in Morrisons slipped 3.91 per cent today after the supermarket giant reported growth had slowed from the previous quarter and came in below analysts’ forecasts.
The group’s total like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose 5.6 per cent in the 13 weeks to Nov. 4, its fiscal third quarter.
“As expected, retail LFL sales growth eased slightly quarter on quarter without the impact of the favourable weather and World Cup which benefited Q2,” the chain added.
Fiona Cincotta, Senior Market Analyst at CityIndex, commented: “The doom and gloom mood that swirls around the UK high street continues even when statistics show data that is slightly better than expected. Investors are still scared by the thick flow of negative news this year that involved mass shop closures and bankruptcies.
“However, October seems to have brought some light to retailers as consumer spending perked up from September, although the increase was not much compared with the heady days of rises in retail spending before Brexit became a serious concern. Investors didn’t take favourably to the report from Morrisons supermarket that its sales rose by 5.6%, mainly because a closer look revealed that only a small part of that increase came from shop sales while the rest was fueled by wholesale activity. Retailers are now pegging their hopes on the massive spendfest that is Black Friday on 23 November and then the run up to Christmas.”
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