News Archive

Year 2010

• July
  • New advertising campaign for Tesco
  • Picota cherries make late arrival
• June
  • Harrods promotes Pakistani mangoes
  • Price war stirs up pineapple market
• May
  • Morrisons sees Growth Slowdown
  • Latest Kantar Data shows Ongoing Premium Purchasing Trend
• April
  • Chile Revises Kiwifruit Forecast
  • M&S reports Q4 success
• March
  • Turkey builds reputation to become key UK supplier
  • Fairtrade First for Univeg
• February
  • Record year for Chilean Hass Avos
  • Morrisons Continues Market Growth

Year 2009

• November
  • M&S Targets Waitrose
• October
  • High hopes for Israeli Avos
  • Waitrose Reveals convenience ambitions
• September
  • Fairtrade Still Winning Public Support
  • Morrisons Records Profit Boost
• August
  • Avocado Supplies Run Tight
  • On the Road to Recovery
• July
  • Discounters - Broadening their appeal
  • TNS Figures Shows Market Solid as Discounter Growth Slows
• June
  • Turkish cherry comeback
  • Europe Set to Welcome RSA Sharonfruit
• May
  • From the Ground Up
  • NW cherries poised for record volume
  • TNS figures show resilient grocery sector
• April
  • Spanish Stonefruit crops thrive
  • South African Avos hit UK
  • Organics sector remains stoical
  • TNS figures demonstrate solid market growth in grocery
• March
  • Tesco and Sainsbury's clash over pricing
  • Apricot crop dodges freeze damage
  • Upbeat Morrisons sees profit rise
  • Raw deal for Fairtrade farms
• February
  • Asda cuts ranges to discount prices
  • European Production of kiwi season 2008/09
  • Exotics traders prepare for period of belt-tightening
  • TNS figures indicate strong start 2009 for grocery
  • Peruvian avocado exports to grow in the next years
• January
  • Morrisons tops Christmas figures
  • TNS figures show 6% final quarter for grocery
  • UK Christmas Trading Analysis
  • Chilean avocados take a plunge

Year 2008

• December
  • Good crop boosts South Africa's plum drive
  • Katopé Malet Azoulay – Name Change
  • Morrisons show healthy growth in testing times
  • Malet Azoulay joins UNIVEG

Morrisons Records Profit Boost

Morrisons the fourth largest supermarket in the UK and a retail customer of Univeg UK has announced exceptional growth in their latest results.

Morrisons has recorded a 45 per cent rise in half-year pre-tax profits and a further improvement in like-for-like sales.

The supermarket made an income of £449 million in the six months to August 2, saying it had added more than one million new customers a week over the last two years.

Profits were up 22 per cent to £359m on an underlying basis. Like-for-like sales, excluding the effect of VAT and fuel, rose 7.8 per cent, against 7.7 per cent last year. Total turnover rose five per cent to £7.5 billion.

Chief executive Marc Bolland said: "This has been an excellent first-half performance from Morrisons, continuing our run of market-beating sales growth."

But the chain is anticipating a slowdown in growth as food price inflation eases over the second half. "With inflation easing off, we see the market's growth going down," said Bolland. "As inflation comes out of the market, growth will be a smaller single digit number."

But Bolland said he expected Morrisons' emphasis on fresh produce, with its Market Street format, to protect it somewhat from a slowdown.

Source: The Fresh Produce Journal