Shares in British supermarket Morrisons (LON:MRW) fell over 5 percent on Thursday, despite reporting a rise in both sales and profits for the first six months of the year.
Like-for-like sales rose 3 percent for the six months to 30 July, with underlying profit rising almost 13 percent to £177 million. The improving results are likely to come as a relief for chief executive David Potts, after a turbulent couple of years for the supermarket and several profit warnings.
Morrisons have since signed several deals in order to expand their reach in the market, forming a tie-up with Amazon and signing a deal to become the wholesale supplier for McColls.
The company reduced net debt during the six month period by a further £262 million, below the group’s £1 billion year-end target. Their interim dividend also rose 5.1 percent to 1.66 pence.
However, analysts failed to be impressed by the improving figures, with shares in Morrisons falling on the news. The company is currently trading down 5.02 percent at 232.66 (1227GMT).
