Morrisons issues upbeat sales figures

Supermarket chain Morrisons offered more evidence of a revival today after it said its recent trading performance had been “encouraging”.

The UK-based group said a revamp of its stores and a high-profile advertising campaign had helped sales growth.

The retailer said like-for-like sales excluding petrol were up 3.7% in the 14 weeks to November 4, ahead of the 3% seen in the first seven weeks.

Although Morrisons remains cautious over the consumer outlook in a competitive market, chief executive Marc Bolland said the performance “was particularly pleasing” against strong comparative trading periods.

Morrisons, the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket chain, had struggled since its acquisition of Safeway in 2004, but Mr Bolland is leading a turnaround of the business.