SUPERMARKET group Morrisons is expected to deliver "solid" half-year results on Thursday on the back of recent sales momentum.
Analysts have forecast that the group will post a 19% rise in underlying profits to around £294m in the six months to the end of July.
The prediction is based on Morrisons achieving like-for-like sales growth of 7% in the first quarter amid a chal
lenging backdrop of rising costs and weak consumer confidence. However, analysts noted that this was down from the 9.5% achieved over the Christmas 2007 period.
Since June, competition among supermarkets has intensified as retailers fight to attract consumers who are increasingly feeling the strain of food inflation. However, value-driven stores such as Morrisons and Asda have been winning market share from the likes of Sainsbury's.
Morrisons' results should continue the financial recovery of the UK's fourth biggest supermarket chain, following the problems caused by its takeover of Safeway in 2004.
The firm has completed the roll-out of its new yellow and green livery in its efforts to refresh the brand as part of a £450m makeover.
Justin Scarborough, analyst with Royal Bank of Scotland, said: "We think that the group will be pleased with its first-half performance and that its expectations for the full year will remain unchanged."
The chain now has 375 stores and 117,000 staff, serving around nine million customers every week.
The full article contains 241 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
