Not the most exciting share, but with safeway conversion now complete (and how much better the old safeway stores are now) the shares should start to come back. Already started a nice rise from a recent low. Costs for conversions will still hold the price back but when that is out of the way, should be be nice. 190p

Final Results

Financial summary

· LFL sales ex-fuel/ex-VAT up 1.7%, positive in all four quarters and 2.5% in Q4
· Turnover up 1.2% to £16.3bn (2015/16: £16.1bn) despite store closures
· UPBT up 11.6% to £337m, at the upper end of the £330m-£340m guided range (2015/16 UPBT before restructuring costs: £302m)
· UPBT up 39.3% (2015/16 UPBT including restructuring costs: £242m)
· Underlying EPS up 39.8% to 10.86p (2015/16: 7.77p)
· Reported PBT up 49.8% to £325m (2015/16: £217m)
· Free cash flow of £670m (2015/16: £854m)
· Operating working capital improvement of £360m
· Gross debt reduced by £717m, net debt reduced by £552m to £1,194m
· Triennial pension valuation complete, with funding surplus of £111m
· Final dividend of 3.85p, full year total dividend up 8.6% to 5.43p (2015/16: 5.00p)

Strategic and operating highlights

· First year of positive LFL sales and UPBT growth since 2011/12
· Strong cash flow, gross and net debt down substantially
· First year of new dividend policy. Dividend sustainable and covered around two times by underlying EPS
· Fix, Rebuild and Grow strategy starting to build a broader, stronger Morrisons
· New partnerships with Amazon, Ocado, Timpson, Rontec, and the revival of the Safeway brand are all capital light growth opportunities
· Further forty 'Morrisons Daily' forecourt convenience stores planned with Rontec

Financial targets update

· £18m of the £50m-£100m incremental PBT target delivered in the first year
· £1bn cost savings achieved. Further productivity and cost savings to come
· Good progress with medium-term cash flow targets: achieved over £900m of £1bn working capital, and almost £900m of £1.1bn disposals
· Net debt expected to fall to less than £1bn by the end of 2017/18

StockMarketWire.com
McColl's Retail reached an agreement for Wm Morrison Supermarkets to supply McColl's growing estate of 1,300 convenience stores, and 350 newsagents.

This long-term partnership provides McColl's with a best-in-class fresh food and grocery offer through the relaunched Safeway brand, which it will enjoy exclusively for a period of 12 months.

This would significantly advance McColl's fresh food credentials and provide its customers with an enhanced range.

The agreement also allows McColl's to improve its commercial terms and simplify its operations as it migrates to a single wholesale partner for the entire estate.

Morrisons will supply both Safeway and branded products to McColl's, with a phased rollout programme starting in January 2018.

McColl's CEO Jonathan Miller said: "As a large, leading multiple grocery retailer with its own outstanding food manufacturing capability Morrisons stands apart from the competition, and we are truly delighted to be entering into partnership with them.

"In McColl's, Morrisons gain a long-term partner of significant scale with a growing neighbourhood convenience estate and in Morrisons we gain access to their best-in-class sourcing and manufacturing capabilities.

"This will enable us to provide our customers with the highest quality fresh food through the relaunch of the much loved and trusted Safeway brand.

"This is a defining moment for McColl's and builds on the transformational deal we announced last year to acquire 298 high quality convenience stores."

Morrisions CEO David Potts said: "We are very pleased to partner with McColl's, and look forward to developing a long and successful relationship together.

"We are also pleased to be reviving the Safeway brand which we know customers will enjoy.

"This new partnership is a further example of Morrisons leveraging existing assets to access the UK's growing convenience food market in a capital light way.

"Wholesale supply will help make us a broader, stronger business."

HSBC today upgrades its investment rating on Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) to hold (from reduce) and raised its price target to 240p (from 190p).

Interims http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5664104

Wm Morrison said it had strong momentum for the Christmas trading period after sales rose in the third quarter. Sales at stores open a year or more, excluding fuel rose 2.5% in the 13 weeks to 29 October, the supermarket said in a trading update.

proactive investor -

Morrisons and Sainsbury's shares tank after Kantar reveals drop in market share
Share
15:20 12 Dec 2017
Grocery inflation reached its highest level since 2013 as a weaker pound pushed up import costs


Morrisons is the biggest faller on the FTSE 100
Shares in Morrison Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) and J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY) plunged on Tuesday after industry data showed the supermarket chains both lost further market share in the 12 weeks to 3 December.
Tough competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl continued to chip away at market share of the so-called ‘big four’ supermarkets during the period, while grocery inflation hit its highest level since 2013, Kantar Worldpanel revealed.
READ: J Sainsbury more at risk than peers from downturn in UK economy, reckons Jefferies
Morrisons’ market share fell to 10.6% from 10.8% the same period a year ago, despite sales rising 1.4% year-on-year.
Sainsbury’s market share dropped to 16.3% from 16.5% while sales edged up 2%.
Tesco was the best performing of the big four, with sales up 2.5% even as its market share fell to 28.2% from 28.3%.
Asda sales climbed 1.2% with market share dipping to 15.0% from 15.3%.
Aldi the fastest growing grocer
Aldi was the fastest growing grocer during the period with sales boosted by chilled food products, including ready meals and desserts.
Its market share rose to 6.9% from 6.2% and sales rose 15.1% as it continued to open more stores. 
Lidl’s market share increased to 5.1% from 6.2% and sales grew 14.5%.
Overall, UK grocery sales rose 3.1% despite the pressure of higher inflation on UK consumers.
Morrisons and Sainsbury's remnained the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 in late afternoon trading with their shares down 5.2% to 210p and 4.6% to 233.4p respecively, while Tesco shares were down 0.6% at 204.25p.
Grocery inflation highest level since 2013
Grocery inflation reached 3.6%, driven by price rises in butter, fish and fresh pork.
A sharp fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote last year has pushed import costs higher, putting a strain on supermarkets that have been trying to keep prices low to attract hard-hit customers in a competitive environment. 
But higher inflation did not stop consumers from spending money on alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks ahead of Christmas. 
“Alcohol sales are up by nearly £172mln compared to this time last year and while volume sales have increased, this impressive growth is mainly a result of consumers choosing more expensive festive tipples," said Fraser McKevit, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.
“Gin, whisky and sparkling wine all saw significant growth: up by 26%, 10% and 7% respectively as shoppers pushed the boat out.”
"Still small but growing rapidly, non-alcoholic beer is the new kid on the block this Christmas – growing sales by 27% during the past 12 weeks.”
 -- Updates share prices --

Just been down to get some plants from the Gardening Section (GS) of our nearest Morrisons.

Last year this section was fantastic. This year, it is an utter disaster!

The store has had a very big investment to 'make this section better'. The main problem though, is the lack of staff, not only in this department, but throughout the whole store.

Anyhow, back to the GS....

What you don't want to see is gross untidiness, poor and inadequate stock levels, dead and dying plants, no one around OR EVEN WITHIN SHOUTING DISTANCE to give you any help or take a sale on the till.

Punters were chatting about how the store had gone down hill in the last few months. One couple said they wanted to buy some cream cakes to take home and had waited 20 minutes for someone to serve them in the bakery section. They saw the manager walking round and complained to him:

"Sorry, but I can't help you. I just haven't got enough staff," and off he went.

I don't think it's just the Morrisons' Northampton town centre store manager.

What I do think, is that the shares are a screaming short!

StockMarketWire.com
British grocer Morrisons reported a 9% increase in its first-half profit and its best quarterly like-for-like sales in almost a decade as it broadens its scope into wholesale.

Underlying pre-tax profit came in at £193m for the six months to 5 August, up from £177m the previous year.

Group like-for-like sales, excluding fuel and VAT sales tax, rose 6.3% in the firm's second quarter and 4.9% in the half-year period.

Morrisons also increased its interim dividend by 11.4% to 1.85p and said it was paying an additional special dividend of 2p.

"Morrisons continues to become broader, stronger and a more popular and accessible brand, and I am confident that our exceptional team of food makers and shopkeepers can keep driving the turnaround at pace," said David Potts, Chief Executive.

Barclays Capital today reaffirms its underweight investment rating on Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) and raised its price target to 225p (from 205p).

Morrisons reported stronger than expected retail sales over the festive period, supported by prices that were kept level with last year. As the first of the big four supermarkets to deliver its post-Christmas update, the Bradford-based group revealed group like-for-like sales of 3.6% in the nine weeks to 6 January. This comprised retail sales growth of 0.6%, with wholesale sales growing 3.0%.