Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc said it’s on track for improved future profit as the smallest of the UK’s main supermarkets seeks to rebound from years of decline.
The grocer has identified opportunities to add £50 million ($71 million) to £100 million to underlying pretax profit over the medium term, it said in a statement Thursday. It also expects to beat targets for working capital and property disposals.
"We are on track to deliver improved future profits and returns for shareholders," Chairman Andrew Higginson said in the statement. Morrison also reported 2015 profit in the middle of its own forecast range.
The results cap an eventful first year for Chief Executive Officer David Potts, in which the former Tesco executive reformed the management team, sold the loss-making convenience-store business and agreed to supply Amazon.com Inc.’s fledgling UK grocery operation. The initiatives have been welcomed by investors, who have sent the company’s shares soaring to a 22-month high in the face of a price war among UK grocers.
The grocer proposed a final dividend of 3.5 pence a share, matching a Bloomberg forecast.
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