UK supermarket Morrisons' sales get coronavirus lockdown boost

British supermarket group Morrisons on Tuesday reported a 5.7% rise in group like-for-like sales in its latest quarter, with demand boosted by the country's coronavirus lockdown.

Morrisons, Britain's fourth largest supermarket group after Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda, said retail sales rose 5.1% in the 14 weeks to May 10, its fiscal first quarter, while wholesale revenue increased 0.6%.

The group said it continued to monitor various 2020-21 sales, profit and cash flow scenarios, but had minimal certainty or visibility around a precise outcome. It said its best estimate is that the 2020-21 costs relating directly to COVID-19 were likely to be broadly offset by the business rates holiday from the UK government.