Morrisons sales fall again

The struggling chain has ditched Ant and Dec in its Christmas advert this year

Morrisons trollies (Getty Images)

Morrisons sales have dropped again after price cuts failed to stoke profits and instead caused prices to spiral even further south.

The fourth biggest supermarket in the UK said that sales were down 2 per cent excluding fuel and 4.6 per cent including fuel.

Morrisons said that customer satisfaction scores had improved and that it would continue to invest in lower prices.

David Potts, the Morrisons chief executive who was brought in to turn around crashing profits in March, said that the chain was making improvements and that underlying profits before tax should be up in the second half of this financial year, compared to the first.

"Our priorities for the rest of the year are unchanged - to stabilise trading, reduce costs and further improve the capability of the leadership team," he said.

Morrisons trails bigger rivals Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco in terms of sales and is still recovering from posting a pre-tax loss of almost £800 million in the financial year ending March. Potts has shelved plans for new convenience stores and cut jobs.

In September, Morrisons said it was shutting 11 major UK stores at the cost of 900 jobs and selling all of its M Local convenience stores at a loss of £30m.

Its Christmas advert will no longer feature Ant and Dec but instead celebrate the chain's in-store butchers, bakers and greengrocers and fishmongers to emphasise the fork-to-farm supply chain that Morrisons says sets it apart from its rivals. It is due to air during Emmerdale on November 6.