Nutmeg owner Morrisons' profits halve despite sales surge

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 11, 2021

UK supermarket chain Morrisons reported its full-year results on Thursday and said profits fell by half as Covid-linked costs dented the bottom line.

The company, which has been expanding its Nutmeg fashion line in the past year, said the 52 weeks to January 31 saw group like-for-like (LFL) sales excluding fuel and VAT rising 8.6%, with Q4 LFLs up 9%. Total revenue rose 0.4% to £17.6 billion. 

But profit before tax and exceptionals was down 50.7% to £201 million, including £290m direct Covid-19 costs. 

Yet there’s no denying that the firm has come out ahead of so many other retailers this year, both because of its reliance on groceries that meant its stores stayed open, and due to its shift online at the same time.

The company started selling Nutmeg online during the year and said that overall online sales tripled during the period.

CEO David Potts actually called “the halving of profits a badge of honour” as the company helped keep the UK fed during lockdowns.

He didn’t break out individual sales figures for the Nutmeg line, but it’s clear that this is increasingly important to the business as it expands access to it.

As well as taking it online, it opened a Nutmeg-specific store at its Bolsover site and introduced its new Nutmeg Menswear range and fixtures into over 50 stores.