Morrisons posts £1bn loss amid rising debt costs

Supermarket chain Morrisons made a loss of more than £1bn last year

Supermarket chain Morrisons made a loss of more than £1bn last year, driven by soaring financing costs as the firm's debt also grew.

The Bradford-based retailer reported the loss in its newly freshly Companies House accounts.

The accounts, made up to 29 October, showed a £1.09bn pre-tax loss, which followed a £1.52bn loss in 2022.

It revealed the latest loss came after it paid out £735m of financing costs partly linked to the firm's debts.

Prior to being acquired by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in 2021 for £7bn, Morrisons had net debt obligations of around £3.2bn.

The accounts showed the parent company - titled Market Topco following the takeover - had net debts of £8.5bn at the end of October last year.

'Pressure from rivals'

Morrisons has since said it would cut its debt pile by using funds from a £2.5bn deal to sell its 337 petrol forecourts to Motor Fuel Group (MFG), which was also owned by CD&R.

In the last financial year, Morrisons also reported revenues of £18.35bn, down from £18.72bn a year earlier.

The retailer had come under significant pressure from the growth of discounter rivals, with Aldi overtaking Morrisons as the UK's fourth biggest supermarket chain in 2022.

In January, its new boss said it was developing plans to "reinvigorate, refresh and strengthen" the supermarket group.

Rami Baitieh, who was appointed chief executive of Morrisons in November, said the business had "work to do" to improve its ranges, pricing and experience for customers.