UK retailer Morrisons, the fourth largest in the country in terms of market share, has made 'further good progress' through the first half of the year, according to its latest set of financial results.

The group reported that underlying profit grew 8 per cent on the same period of 2010 (to 31 July), up to £442m (€502m) from £410m (€466m), while like-for-like sales increased by 2.2 per cent.

During the six-month period, Morrisons recorded record customer numbers, with an average of 11.5m people passing through the checkouts each week, while the group opened 16 ex-Netto stores and launched its first trial convenience store.

'In a tough economy shoppers are looking for unbeatable value on fresh food, great deals on national brands and the best prices at the petrol pump,' said CEO Dalton Phillips. 'Our 'Price Crunch' campaign has delivered these for our customers throughout the period.

'In addition to growing sales and delivering good profit growth, we also made great strides in developing the business for the future,' he added. 'We have opened our first convenience store, invested further in our unique production capabilities, increased efficiency across the Group, gained valuable insights from our trial stores and taken our first steps towards becoming a multichannel retailer. I am confident we will make further good progress in the second half.'

In its outlook report, Morrisons noted that the second half of the year would be challenging, but said that the board was confident that it would deliver on full-year expectations.

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