Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc reported a fifteenth straight drop in quarterly same-store sales, underlining the size of the task facing new Chief Executive Officer David Potts.
Revenue at stores open at least a year fell 2.6 percent, excluding fuel, in the 13 weeks ended Nov. 1, the Bradford, England-based grocer said in a statement on Thursday. The median estimate of 16 analysts was for a 2.1 percent decline.
“Our priorities for the rest of the year are unchanged -- to stabilize trading, reduce costs and further improve the capability of the leadership team," Potts said in the statement.
Actions taken by Potts in the first seven months of his tenure have yet to provide much of a boost to financial performance. The CEO has cut almost half of the grocer’s senior management and in September sold its convenience stores to refocus on big supermarkets. The U.K. grocery industry is beset by falling prices and intense competition as a result of the growing popularity of discounters Aldi and Lidl.
Morrison reiterated its forecast that underlying pretax profit in the second half of the financial year will exceed the 126 million pounds reported in the first half.
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