Shares in Morrisons (LON:MRW) rose in early trading on Wednesday, after the company declared a special dividend as their turnaround strategy begins to take effect.

The group declared a special dividend of 4p per share and a final dividend of 4.43 pence, a 12.2 percent rise in the total dividend for the year.

Profits also rose during the period, with pre-tax profit up 16.9 percent to £380 million and revenue up 5.8 percent to £17.3 billion.

Net debt continued to fall, offset by a 2.8 percent rise in like-for-like sales excluding fuel, and the group confirmed that it was on course for annualised wholesale-supply sales to all partners to exceed £700 million by the end of 2018, and to be more than £1bn ‘in due course’.

“Morrisons is now entering its third consecutive year of growth, which is a credit to the whole team,” chairman Andrew Higginson said.

“We will continue to prioritise consistent, meaningful and sustainable growth, which I am confident we are well placed to keep delivering.”

Morrisons were forced to implement a turnaround plan after a spate of profit warnings back in 2014. The most recent sets of results seem to show a revival in the group’s business, as the supermarket sector overall starts to fare better.