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Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc

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FY2009 Annual Report · Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc
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Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC
Hilmore House
Gain Lane
Bradford
BD3 7DL
Telephone: 0845 611 5000

www.morrisons.co.uk

Information at your fingertips

Consumer
This area of our website allows you to learn more 
about Morrisons and our offering.

offers
•  Latest promotions
•  Specific product offerings
•  Competitions
•  Press releases/marketing

Great Taste, Less Waste
All about getting more meals for your money  
by reducing waste and making the most of fresh 
food. Includes how to store food and keep 
leftovers fresher for longer and more recipes.

seasonal
Guide on what to buy for, say, Easter, Christmas 
and those other special times of year.

Webcasts
Webcasts of the Directors delivering the 
preliminary results 2010 on 11 March 2010  
are available.

Shareholder information
Other relevant shareholder information  
is available, like share price history,  
financial calendar and AGM minutes.

market street
More about our unique in-store offering, along 
with video presentations of where our food 
comes from and how to buy, cook and present it.

Food
Information about our ranges, healthy eating and 
more mouth-watering recipes.

Drink
Information on how and what to buy, where our 
wines come from and, yes, more recipes.

ToDAy
Here you can find out about our Corporate  
and Social Responsibility ethos, including  
how we take good care of our environment, 
society and how we go about business.  
www.morrisons.co.uk/today

CorporATe
Work with morrisons
Career opportunities and information  
about working for Morrisons. For our  
dedicated recruitment website go to  
www.iwantafreshstart.com

Family life
From entertainments to bringing up baby and 
looking after your pets. Including gardening tips 
and even how to track where your eggs come 
from.

press office
Latest releases about the growing estate  
of Morrisons, along with promotions and  
product news.

Fresh food
Giving details of seasonal food and how and  
what to buy. 

Let’s Grow
Information about our Let’s Grow scheme, 
including how to register, facts, how it works and 
teaching resources.

Investors
User-friendly
Presentations, announcements and financial 
reports can be quickly and easily downloaded  
or viewed on-screen as PDFs. You can easily 
navigate around the Annual report and financial 
statements 2010 on-screen, viewing only the 
parts you want to  
www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Electronic communications
Electronic communications (eComms) is  
the fastest and most environmentally friendly  
way to communicate with our shareholders.

Instead of receiving paper copies of the annual 
and interim financial results, notices of 
shareholder meetings and other shareholder 
documents, you will receive an email to let you 
know this information is available on our website.

Visiting our website to obtain our results reduces 
our environmental impact by saving on paper and 
also reduces our print and distribution costs.

Sign up to eComms on our website at  
www.morrisons.co.uk/corporate/investors 
and follow the investor eComms link.

About morrisons
You will find information about the Group,  
its operations, its strategy and structure,  
and past financial information.

Keeping things simple

Annual review 2010

Contents and introduction

Investor relations and financial calendar – continued

29

ConTenTs

1  Highlights

2  Chairman’s statement

4  Business review

6  Strategy

8  A broad appeal
10  A simple model
12  A real difference
14   A simple commitment

16  Operating review

18  Board of Directors

20  Summary financial statement
20  Summary Directors’ report
20   Summary corporate  
governance report
21   Summary Directors’ 
remuneration report

25   Independent auditors’ statement
26  Summary financial statement

28   Investor relations and  
financial calendar

Our business 
We are the UK’s fourth largest food retailer by  
sales with an annual turnover in excess of £15bn.
We have 425 stores across Britain, ranging in size  
from 10,000 to 40,000 square feet.
Over 10 million customers visit our stores  
each week served by over 134,000 employees.

Our strategy and vision
Our vision is to be the ‘Food Specialist for Everyone’.
As a food specialist we differentiate ourselves  
from our major competitors by having:
•  our own manufacturing and packing facilities;
•  more people in-store preparing food than any  
  other retailer; and
•   more specialist butchers, fishmongers and bakers 

in-store than our competitors.

registrars and shareholding enquiries
Administrative enquiries about the holding of Morrisons shares,
such as change of address, change of ownership, dividend payments
and the Dividend Reinvestment Plan should be directed to:

Auditors
KPMG Audit Plc
1 The Embankment, Neville Street
Leeds LS1 4DW

Capita Registrars
Northern House
Woodsome Park
Fenay Bridge
Huddersfield
HD8 0GA

Telephone: 0871 664 0300 Overseas: +44 208 639 3399
Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras.

www.capitaregistrars.com

solicitors
Gordons LLP
Riverside West, Whitehall Road
Leeds LS1 4AW

Ashurst LLP
Broadwalk House, 5 Appold Street
London EC2A 2HA

Wragge & Co LLP
55 Colmore Row
Birmingham B3 2AS

stockbrokers
RBS Hoare Govett Limited
250 Bishopsgate
London EC2M 4AA

Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch Financial Centre
2 King Edward Street
London EC1A 1HQ

Investment bankers
NM Rothschild & Sons Limited
1 King William Street, London EC4N 7AR

Designed by salterbaxter
Printed by Pureprint Group

Cert no. SGS-COC-0620

shareholder information
The number of shareholders at 31 January 2010 were 46,959 (1 February 2009 were 43,949) and the number of shares in issue was 2,651,100,378  
(1 February 2009: 2,629,813,268)

Analysis by shareholder

Private shareholder
Nominee companies
Deceased accounts
Limited companies
Other institutions
Bank & bank nominees
Investment trusts
Pension funds
Family interests
Insurance companies

Analysis by shareholder

1–1,000
1,001–10,000
10,001–1,000,000
over 1,000,000

number of holders

% holders

Balance at 31 January 2010

% capital

40,627
5,532
336
248
79
59
34
29
9
6

87.09
11.86
0.72
0.53
0.17
0.13
0.07
0.06
0.02
0.01

432,006,887
2,156,765,323
659,413
4,891,206
17,244,002
34,077,574
340,782
5,038,065
10,401
66,725

16.30
81.35
0.02
0.18
0.65
1.29
0.01
0.19
0.00
0.00

number of holders

% holders

Balance at 31 January 2010

% capital 

24,503
19,611
2,537
308

52.18
41.76
5.40
0.66

11,007,279
57,192,577
251,183,410
2,331,717,112

0.42
2.16
9.47
87.95

View our report online...
You can easily navigate around the 2010 
Annual report and financial statements 
on-screen, viewing only the parts you want 
to. Information can be quickly and easily 
downloaded or viewed on-screen as PDFs.

Visit    www.morrisons.co.uk/
annualreport10

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Highlights

1

The Morrisons approach is simple 
Our unique offer of high quality,  
fresh food at great prices continues  
to attract customers.

We have made considerable progress in  
our strategy to be the ‘food specialist for 
everyone’ as we focus on the provenance,  
quality and freshness of food served by 
experts who know their trade.

Financial highlights

 £15.4bn

Group turnover

+6.0%

Like-for-like sales (ex-fuel, ex-VAT)

2010

2009

£15.4bn

2010

+6.0%

£14.5bn

2009

+8.2%

 £767m

Underlying profit before tax

 20.5pence

Underlying earnings per share

2010

2009

£767m

2010

20.5p

£636m

2009

16.7p

 £924m

Net debt

 8.2pence

Total dividend per share

2010

2009

£924m

2010

8.2p

£642m

2009

5.8p

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

2

Chairman’s statement

HIGHlIGHtS 2009/10 

Strong financial performance
 Profit before tax £858m
• 

• 

• 

 Underlying profit increased 21%

 Underlying basic earnings  
per share 20.5p

See   page 16 for more on Operating results

Dividend growth once again
• 

 Total dividend for the year 8.2p

• 

• 

 Increase of 41% from 2009

 Dividend cover 2.5 times

Board changes
• 

 New CEO Dalton Philips, March 2010

• 

  Two new Non-Executive Directors 

See    page 18 for the Board of Directors 

biographies

Sir Ian Gibson, Chairman

Morrisons had another good year. Once again 
our focus on fresh food and great value appealed  
to shoppers everywhere, and we have successfully 
grown sales and profits to record levels. We completed 
delivery of the Optimisation Plan first launched four 
years ago, and we are well on the way to cementing  
our position as the ‘food specialist for everyone’.  
The opening of 43 stores in the year accelerated our 
journey from National to Nationwide.

 £858m

Profit before tax increased £203m  
compared to last year £655m.

 23%

increase

Underlying earnings per share increased  
to 20.5p from 16.7p in 2009.

 41%

increase
Total dividend for the year has increased 41%, 
making dividend cover 2.5 times.

 7.12pence

The Board has recommended a final dividend  
of 7.12p per share, bringing the total dividend 
for the year to 8.20p per share.

 £42m

The profit share pool for our colleagues  
is £42m, an increase of 24% on the  
previous year.

 £1.8m

raised for our Charity of the Year  
– Cancer Research UK.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

3

Outlook 
We expect the economic environment to remain 
challenging, disposable incomes to be under 
pressure and value to be a high priority for 
consumers. The Board believes that Morrisons 
unique offer of high quality fresh food at great 
value prices will continue to attract customers 
from our competitors and drive market share 
growth in the year ahead. For the longer term,  
we will utilise our balance sheet strength to 
invest for growth, with new space, new 
manufacturing capability and new systems  
a priority in the year ahead. 

Sir Ian Gibson
Chairman

Morrisons Academy, launched in 2009,  
will provide training for professional and 
vocational qualifications. 

In a difficult period for the UK economy  
and for the consumer, Morrisons has again 
demonstrated its strength. I am pleased to 
report another year of significant progress, 
during which we successfully concluded the 
Optimisation Plan launched in 2006, delivered 
market beating sales growth, record profits  
and a strong dividend. We made great strides 
towards our goal of being the ‘food specialist 
for everyone’ and welcomed more customers 
through our doors than ever before on our 
journey to take the business from National  
to Nationwide.

Results
Profit before tax was £858m compared with 
£655m last year. This included an exceptional 
credit of £91m arising from steps taken to 
strengthen our pension schemes. Underlying 
profit before tax was £767m, up 21% on last 
year. Underlying basic earnings per share (EPS) 
increased by 23% to 20.5p, whilst statutory 
basic EPS increased by 31%. 

Cash generation was strong, with cash from 
operations of £1.0bn, up £40m on the previous 
year. Capital expenditure increased, as 
anticipated, to £906m (2008/09: £678m), 
following the development of a new regional 
distribution centre and 45 store openings in 
the year, two of which were replacements. 
These investments in future growth resulted  
in an increase in net debt to £924m (2008/09: 
£642m). Gearing was 19%, a level well below 
average for the sector, and at the year end the 
Group had undrawn committed bank facilities 
of £650m. 

Board changes
We are pleased to welcome Dalton Philips  
as our new Chief Executive, following Marc 
Bolland’s resignation in November 2009.  
Dalton joins from Loblaw, where he was Chief 
Operating Officer, having spent much of his 
career in grocery retail worldwide. We thank 
Marc for his contribution to the development  
of the business over the past three years.

As part of the Board’s progressive succession 
strategy, Susan Murray retired as a Non-Executive 
Director on 31 December 2009. We are extremely 
appreciative of Susan’s efforts and valued 
contribution throughout her four years on the 
Board and grateful to her for the support she  
gave to the Group through its business recovery 
and development. 

We are pleased to welcome two new  
Non-Executive Directors, Penny Hughes  
and Johanna Waterous. They both bring  
many years of experience and their  
biographies can be found on page 18.

Industry recognition for colleagues
We are delighted that our commitment to 
providing our customers with the best value, 
quality and service has again been recognised  
in numerous industry awards. 

These awards are a testament to the hard work  
and passion of all our 134,000 colleagues who 
day-to-day strive to make Morrisons the ‘food 
specialist for everyone’. During the year we 
launched the Morrisons Academy, the next step  
in the training and development of our people,  
and already we have 20,000 colleagues working 
towards nationally recognised qualifications.  
I am delighted that our growth will provide a  
profit share pool of £42m, a 24% increase on the 
previous year, in recognition of their commitment 
to living our values. On behalf of the Board I  
want to express our continuing thanks for the 
commitment, dedication and professionalism 
shown by our colleagues every day.

Charitable donations
Throughout the business, our colleagues and 
customers have once again enthusiastically 
supported a variety of charitable activities, 
community initiatives and national events.  
These have included raising £220,000 for  
Children in Need and £600,000 for the Haiti 
Disaster Emergency Committee earthquake  
appeal. Our Charity of the Year for 2009/10  
was Cancer Research UK and to date we have 
raised in excess of £1.8m. 

Introducing our new Chief Executive
Dalton Philips

 “I have worked in retail organisations  
worldwide and have often looked at Morrisons, 
particularly how it combined its fresh food  
offer and great value.

I am therefore delighted to be joining what I 
would regard as a retailers’ retailer at a time 
when they have delivered outstanding results.

I am looking forward to working with the  
team to build on those strong foundations  
for the future.”

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

4

Business review

BuSIneSS HIGHlIGHtS 2009/10 

Continuing strategic success
• 

  ‘Food specialist for everyone’ gains  
further recognition

• 

 Retail Week ‘Retailer of the Year’  
for second consecutive year.

Store estate development
• 

 13% increase in selling space since 2007 
– exceeding our target 

• 

• 

 Net 43 new stores opened in the year

 Smaller store format expected to help  
us in our target to add a further 1.5m 
square feet of new selling space over  
the next three years

Shareholder returns
• 

 In the past four years total shareholder 
return has averaged 16% p.a. compared  
to FTSE 100 at 3% and European grocery 
retail sector at 9%

StRateGy

Morrisons has made considerable progress  
in its strategy to position the business as  
the UK’s ‘food specialist for everyone’.

Food specialist
We really understand food...

•   we know where it comes from;

•   we pack it and make it in our factories;

•   we make it in our stores; and

•   we employ craft skills in every store.

For everyone

•  Great food which is also great value

•  Great food which is for every day  

not just special days

We continued to broaden our customer appeal 
over the year by maintaining our focus on fresh  
food and value and providing great customer  
service through a wide range of stores from  
10,000 to 40,000 square feet. With the building  
blocks now in place we have a strong platform  
to take Morrisons to a nationwide company.

Store estate development
In 2007, we set out an objective to add  
an additional 1m square feet of new selling  
space to our estate over the three years to 
January 2010. We are pleased to have exceeded 
that target by 0.4m square feet, through a 
combination of store extensions and store 
openings (including 34 stores we acquired  
from the Co-operative Group in 2009). 

As the fourth largest grocery retailer in the UK, 
we see significant opportunities to expand our 
store estate further. We offer a real difference  
in grocery retailing that is highly attractive to  
a wide range of consumers as evidenced by  
the increasing number of customers who  
are shopping in our stores and enjoying the 
Morrisons experience. However, there are  
still many parts of the country where we are 
under-represented. We estimate that there are 
some seven million households in the UK not 
located within a convenient 15 minute drive  
time from a Morrisons store – a higher target 
customer base than any of our three larger 
competitors. A key part of our strategy, therefore, 
is to grow the number of Morrisons stores.

Strategy 
Morrisons has made considerable progress  
in its strategy to position the business as  
the UK’s ‘food specialist for everyone’. 

Our strategy will enable the business to continue 
sustainable, long term growth. It builds on our 
strengths, and is in tune with our customers’ 
needs for excellent value and their increasing 
focus on the provenance, quality and freshness  
of the food they buy. In order to deliver our 
strategy, we have previously outlined the building 
blocks that need to be put in place, and our plans 
to do this were incorporated in the Optimisation 
Plan that has now completed. These include 
freshening our stores and the first phases of 
improving and developing the infrastructure  
of the business in relation to IT operating 
systems, manufacturing and distribution.  
Our progress towards these goals is set out  
in the Operating review on page 16.

We will continue to invest in our strategy  
of being the ‘food specialist for everyone’. 
Colleagues in the business now have access  
to the Morrisons Academy, enabling them to  
be trained further in food-related skills. We will 
invest in additional manufacturing capabilities  
in order to strengthen this point of difference 
with our competitors and we will continue to 
offer our customers new and innovative fresh 
food items of great quality produced in Market 
Street, fresh on the day. 

 21   %

increase
Underlying profit has increased  
to £767m from £636m last year.

New jobs created 

Our continued growth resulted in 10,000 new 
jobs created over the period. We welcomed 
2,300 colleagues formerly employed by the 
Co-operative Group or Somerfield. As part  
of the conversion of these stores to the 
Morrisons format, all of these colleagues  
have undergone training to introduce our 
great customer service and fresh food offer.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

Our farmers mean  
a great deal

We launched a Farm Programme focused  
on research to help improve the efficiency 
and sustainability of British Farming.  
Our research farm is a ground-breaking  
joint venture to establish a 700-acre farm  
on the Dumfries House Estate in East 
Ayrshire. Morrisons Farm at Dumfries  
House will work in a new partnership with  
the Scottish Agricultural College, to become 
one of the leading centres of excellence for 
applied farming research.

5

The early performance of the stores acquired 
from the Co-operative Group last year has 
confirmed that our offer works well in a wide 
range of store sizes giving us increased flexibility 
when finding sites. We expect to add a further 
1.5m square feet of selling space in the three 
years to January 2013.

We believe that the delivery of our strategy  
of space expansion and the optimisation of  
our business model has delivered strongly 
improved profit margins whilst also  
positioning the Group for long term growth.

Shareholder investment and returns 
Delivery of our Optimisation Plan has ensured 
strong growth in sales, profits and dividends, whilst 
we have also invested to generate future growth. 

In the four years since the launch of the 
Optimisation Plan, annual dividend growth has 
averaged 30% p.a. and total shareholder return 
16% p.a. This return compares with equivalent 
figures for the FTSE 100 and European Retail 
sector of 3% and 9% respectively.

The Group has a strong balance sheet and is 
securely financed, with competitive revolving 
credit facilities available until 2012 and a  
number of bonds which mature between  
2010 and 2018. 

underlying basic earnings per share
(Pence p)

2010

2009

2008

2007

8.3

20.5

16.7

14.4

Underlying basic earnings per share  
has increased 23%.

Morrisons market share by region 2009/10

Scotland
16.1%
(15.1%)

Lancashire  
and North East
16.6%
(16.4%)

Yorkshire
22.0%
(21.4%)

Wales & West
12.4%
(12.2%)

Central
12.5%
(12.2%)

South West
15.3%

(14.1%)

South & 
South East
6.1%
(6.1%)

East England
11.7%
(11.3%)

London
6.7%
(6.5%)

Figures in brackets are from 2008/09 
Source: Kantar Worldpanel

 +53 %

share price

From January 2006 to January 2010,  
Morrisons share price increased 53%,  
compared to a fall in the FTSE 100 of 10%.

Strong investment 
grade rating

The Group’s credit rating was upgraded  
by Moody’s for the second consecutive  
year to A3, making us one of only three 
European retailers to hold this grade. 

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

6

Strategy

Keeping things simple: Our vision to be the 
‘Food Specialist for Everyone’ is now well 
advanced. Our constant focus on freshness,  
great value and outstanding service is appealing  
to more and more people. And we’re now closer to  
customers having opened 43 new stores last year.

A simple strategy

BRanD valueS

POSItIOnInG

Morrisons has three distinct 
brand values that strengthen our 
vision. The brand values give us 
the flexibility to react to market 
changes and consumer trends.

Fresh
Value
Service

Freshness, great value and outstanding service 
mean our brand and our products are appealing 
to more people for more reasons. 

Our research supports this as we are attracting 
more customers from higher income groups as 
well as younger customers. We are consistently 
ranked higher than our competitors for having  
‘the freshest food possible’.

As a food specialist we differentiate ourselves from our major 
competitors, all of whom have significant non-food offers.  
We are unique in having our own manufacturing and packing 
facilities, and being farmers ourselves. We also prepare more  
food and employ more specialist butchers, fishmongers and  
bakers in-store than our competitors. We can clearly demonstrate 
our deep understanding of food and ensure that everyone who 
shops with us receives outstanding value, freshness and service.

natIOnal tO natIOnwIDe

We identified an opportunity for space growth so that more 
households in the UK are within a 15 minute drive of one of  
our stores. This space growth started with the acquisition of  
38 stores from Co-operative/Somerfield in 2009, 34 of which  
were converted and fully trading as Morrisons during 2009.  
This added 480,000 square feet of space during the year. 

We will also be increasing our number of smaller stores. These  
are stores with less than 20,000 square feet sales area but that  
still have a complete Market Street. These smaller stores are  
not convenience shops but do provide convenient shopping.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

7

Morrisons share of grocers uk 2010
(Percentage %)

A

B

D

C

MaRket SHaRe

StRateGy DelIveRy

Our market share continues  
to increase as we move from 
National to Nationwide. 
Morrisons market share growth 
was greater than the total market 
growth year-on-year and as a 
result we grew market share. 

Success at Morrisons relies on  
our 134,000 people delivering 
great service to our customers 
each and every day. 

See   page 15 for more on our people

A. Morrisons 
B.  Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s (combined) 
C.  Premium (combined) 
D.  Discounter and others (combined) 

12.6%
63.5%
5.8%
18.1%

Market share growth in 2009/10
(Percentage %)

Market growth

4.7

9.1

6.0

  Morrisons
  Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s average

Source: Kantar Worldpanel

 2.4% 

Basket size (total average)  
has increased 2.4% in the year.

increase

 24 hours

British peas and beans can arrive in a Morrisons 
store just 24 hours after being picked.

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

8

Strategy – continued

A broad appeal: In the past year we attracted more 
customers than ever before. Our fresh approach  
has a wider appeal across the whole country.

From Folkestone  
to Falkirk...

FROM natIOnal tO natIOnwIDe

a BROaD aPPeal

•   A wider range of store sizes – we now have 96 smaller stores

•   30,000 price cuts through the year

•   Our ‘Big Price Crunch’ weeks and ‘Essentials For Less’ 

were popular with customers

•   3,000 new fresh and core grocery products

•   20,000 colleagues working towards a national recognised 

retail qualification through our Fresh Food Academy

 +6.7% 

footfall

This year we attracted an additional 500,000 
customers to our stores each week.

22,000

Over 22,000 own label lines, including  
Fresh Ideas, which uses raw, easy to cook 
ingredients so that the products are fresher  
than ready meals.

We identified an opportunity for space growth  
so that more households in the UK are within  
a 15 minute drive of one of our stores.

56
Scotland

78
North

81
Midlands

64

South West

72

74
South East

South Central

Key

 Stores
  Manufacturing sites 
  Distribution centres
  Sittingbourne distribution centre, Kent (opened August 2009)

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

9

Anna Hall
Customer, Leicester

 “I’m a regular at your Winsford store and 
think it’s excellent. The shelves are always 
well-stocked, and at Christmas I found 
everything I needed. Your staff are cheerful 
and helpful too. Morrisons own brand 
products and produce are really good, and  
if we need anything while holidaying in the 
UK, we always head for your nearest store.”

45stores opened

during the year, two of which  
were replacements.

SuStaInaBle FOOD FOR...
Today

Fresh fish: 100% of our own brand 
fresh fish complies with our 
sustainable sourcing policy. Our 
counters have been certified under 
the Marine Stewardship Council 
(MSC) Chain of Custody programme.

Visit    www.morrisons.co.uk/today

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

10

Strategy – continued

A simple model: Where possible, we source 
locally and manufacture in our own sites.  
We distribute to our stores through our own 
network. The benefits? We’re able to deliver 
consistent freshness at a reduced cost whilst 
being in control of our supply chain.

From Manor Farm  
to milk moustache...

HOw OuR MODel wORkS

HOw OuR MODel BeneFItS OuR BuSIneSS

•  We are closer to source

•  Costs are reduced by cutting out the middle man

•  Our food is fresher and in-store quicker

•  We react to the weather quicker than other supermarkets

•  Savings are passed on to our customers

 18m cases

of products pass through our distribution 
network and are delivered to stores each week.

 100%

British

All Morrisons own brand eggs are free  
range from the UK and approved by  
the RSPCA’s Freedom Food scheme.

From selection...

Being closer to source means we can better 
control the provenance and quality of our 
food. Sustainable and responsible sourcing  
is important to us.

To packhouse...

We own manufacturing facilities, which  
means we reduce our supply chain lead times, 
allowing us to maximise freshness in-store  
and reduce waste and costs.

Distributed and delivered to...

We own 13 distribution centres and operate  
a very modern transport fleet, ensuring 
freshness and cost control.

All our stores.

Because we prepare food in-store, we can 
react to customer trends throughout the day, 
only producing what the customer wants.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

11

Locally sourced fresh milk 

We source all our standard milk from seven 
regions in England, Wales and Scotland.  
This means that our customers are not only 
getting the freshest milk possible, but 
they’re also supporting local British farmers.

OuR PaCkaGInG...
Today

Milk: Changes to the recycled 
content of our milk containers have 
helped divert around 800 tonnes of 
material from landfill.

Visit    www.morrisons.co.uk/today

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

12

Strategy – continued

A real difference: In Market Street we have 
more people preparing food than any other 
retailer and we employ more specialist 
butchers, fishmongers and bakers than  
any of our competitors.

From freshly baked 
to Family Butcher... 

In tHe MaRket StReet yOu’ll FInD

Meet tHe FReSH FOOD PeOPle

•   Over 1,200 fully trained fishmongers serving 50 kinds of fresh fish

•   2,200 bakers trained in baking craft skills

•   2,000 trained butchers in-store who prepare over 120 

different cuts of British beef, pork, lamb and poultry each day

•   Our cake experts can produce, at customer request, one of our 

cakes within minutes

Made fresh in-store
33,000 sandwiches are made fresh  
in-store every day.

 10,000

jobs were created during the year, 9,000  
of which will service our unique fresh  
food Market Street counters.

InveStMent In SeRvICe anD SkIllS

Through our Fresh Food 
Academy, our Market Street 
colleagues will receive training  
for professional and vocational 
qualifications. By April 2010,  
they will all be accredited and 
qualified to Royal Society for 
Public Health standards of food 
safety making us the only retailer  
to operate to this standard.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

13

OuR PaCkaGInG...
Today

Packaging: Since 2006, we have 
saved over 1,000 tonnes of packaging 
used in Market Street.

Visit    www.morrisons.co.uk/today

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

14

Strategy – continued

A simple commitment: We are a practical, 
down to earth business and that’s how we 
approach corporate social responsibility.  
Our programme is consistent with our Vision 
and Values and reflects sound commercial 
thinking as part of everyday business.

What we do Today makes
 for a better tomorrow...

Carbon management

reSponSible & SuStainable SourCing

Since our 2005 baseline year we’ve made  
an absolute saving of over 240,000 tonnes  
of CO2e through an active programme of 
energy management, refrigeration efficiency,  
‘good housekeeping’, renewables, resource 
efficiency, technology and raised awareness. 
Despite significant business growth over that 
time, our emissions remain on a downward trend.

We are ‘closer to source’ through our business operation  
and owning and operating our supply chain. The principles  
of responsible and sustainable sourcing underlines our  
approach, recognising the value of the resources on which  
we depend to carry out our business.

tonnes of carbon emissions (Co2e)
(Tonnes t)

Examples of what we are doing:

• 

• 

 The 2009 Marine Conservation Society 
Survey highlighted that we have a ‘strong 
seafood sourcing policy’ and the ‘largest 
choice of sustainable seafood’ (from their 
‘Fish to Eat’ list).

 Our Farm Programme began in 2009 
when we took the decision to invest in a 
series of different activities with the core  
aim of working with farmers to develop a 
sustainable British farming industry. This 
includes Farming/Producer Groups, Research 
and establishing a farm at Dumfries House.

2009

2008*

2007*

2006*

2005*

1,235,760

1,270,608

1,235,410

1,334,842

1,477,141

Our carbon footprint includes energy waste, 
refrigeration and transport for our stores,  
offices, manufacturing and packing facilities.

NB: All years are calendar years

*  Morrisons carbon emissions from 2005 to 2008 (inclusive) 

have been updated based on increased accuracy in the 
measurement and recording of electricity consumption. 
SKM Enviros (Environmental Consultancy)

• 

• 

 We have committed to ensure that palm oil 
used in our own label products is sourced 
through Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil 
recognised supply chain systems by 2015.

 We have extended our ethical audit 
programme to extend to over 600  
suppliers in the next three years.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

15

envIROnMentally  
FRIenDly StOReS...
Today

Our Halifax store followed 
Kidderminster’s success to receive  
one of the greenest awards for a 
supermarket, achieving an Excellent 
rating from the Building Research 
Establishment Environmental 
Assessment Method (BREEAM).

Our ongoing design and build 
programme incorporates lessons  
learnt from stores like Kidderminster 
and Halifax. It enables us to make 
practical applications across our estate 
to reduce environmental impact.

FReSH FOOD aCaDeMy

Our Fresh Food Academy was launched this year to enhance the 
craft, food knowledge, food safety and customer service skills of our 
people. By Spring 2010, we will have trained 20,000 colleagues to 
QCF Level 2 and are on track to train 100,000 colleagues by 2011. 
This is the biggest programme of its kind in the UK and provides 
employees with tailored training leading to a nationally recognised 
qualification in retail skills.

 80% 

of our employees are promoted from within.  
We believe in giving everyone the opportunity  
to progress from shop floor to top floor.

We are committed to ensuring that all  
employees, new and existing, are engaged  
in the future of our business:

• 

• 

• 

 236 people celebrated 25 years’ service 
in 2009;

 over 57% of our Senior Management 
Group have over 10 years’ experience  
at Morrisons; and

 more than 30% of our Senior Management 
Group started at the shop floor.

Retail Industry Award 

Store Manager of the year
3 years running – 2007, 2008 and 2009.

employee stability*
(Percentage %)

2010

2009

2008

84

78

76

Our employee stability rate has improved. 
Moreover, some 33% of our employees  
have been with us for over five years.

*  Employee stability is measured as the percentage  

of employees who have been with us for over one year.

Our building blocks

1 values

2 leadership

Values are incorporated in 
everything we do and  
are at the core of what we 
expect our leaders and 
colleagues to be about.

We will develop effective 
leaders working to our  
Values because they create 
the right workplace  
conditions in which customers 
receive a great service.

4 Performance

3 talent

Sustainable performance 
relies on having people in  
place to: grow the business; 
strengthen our unique  
Morrisons culture and deliver 
our vision of being the ‘food 
specialist for everyone’.

At Morrisons we believe 
that everyone has talent  
and we are committed to 
selecting, developing  
and growing the best 
people for our business.

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

 
16

operating review 

operating highlightS 2009/10 

Strong turnover growth
• 

 Total turnover increased 6%

• 

• 

• 

 Store sales grew ahead of the market

 Like-for-like sales increased 6%

 Customer numbers increased 7%

See    section on Turnover growth

Optimisation Plan
• 

 Completed, with all key targets exceeded

• 

• 

 Total Plan EBITDA1 improvements 
£526m per annum

 New regional distribution centre opened 
in the South East, ahead of schedule 

Corporate Social Responsibility progress
• 

 Great progress in meeting our CSR targets

• 

• 

 ‘Great Taste Less Waste’ launched

  ‘Let’s Grow’ scheme had 22,500 
participating schools and won an award

• 

 Carrier bag consumption reduced by 126m

See    www.morrisons.co.uk/today

1  EBITDA is earnings before interest, 
tax, depreciation and amortisation.

Weekly average customer numbers
(Millions m)

2010

2009

2008

2007

10.5

9.8

9.3

9.0

Weekly average customer numbers have 
continued to grow, rising by 7% in the  
current year.

2009/10 was another strong year for Morrisons. 
With the economic environment continuing to 
weigh heavily on consumers, our focus on value 
allowed our customers to stretch their household 
budgets further.

turnover growth
Total turnover was £15.4bn, an increase of 
£0.9bn (6.0%) and we were pleased that our 
store sales (excluding fuel) again grew ahead  
of the market. Like-for-like sales (excluding fuel), 
which reflect performance in existing stores, 
increased by 6.0% with good growth in all 
regions. Total average basket size increased  
by 2.4% and customer numbers were up 6.7%.  
On average, 10.5m customers are now visiting 
our stores each week. 

trading
Whilst we have continued to maintain focus on 
the quality and provenance of our food, we have 
responded to the challenges our customers face 
through the provision of consistently innovative 
value. In all, we initiated over 30,000 price cuts 
through the year and delivered a promotional 
programme that enabled our customers to save 
money whilst eating good fresh food. Treats  
too were in evidence, and after months of 
belt-tightening we saw customers trading up  
to enjoy Christmas. Building on its success  
last year, we relaunched and expanded our 
‘Collector Card’ scheme over the Christmas 
period, rewarding our loyal customers with  
a £25 shopping voucher.

There is now much greater awareness of our 
brand throughout the country and as a result  
we grew sales well in all regions. Our market 
research showed that we continued to attract 
new customers from competitors, including  
both the premium grocery segment and  
the discounters. 

new retail space
The Group has made good progress in its plans  
to become a truly nationwide retailer. During  
the year we opened 43 new stores and now  
have a total of 425 trading. Of these, 34 were 
acquired from the Co-operative Group and  
we also opened 11 other stores. Of these,  
two were replacements of existing stores.  
We now operate 11.9m square feet of selling 
space, an increase of 7%. 

In November 2008, we announced the 
acquisition of 38 stores from the Co-operative 
Group and we opened 34 of these during the 
year. In the original package were four stores 
which do not naturally fit the Morrisons 
operating model. As planned, they will remain 
closed until we are in a position to evaluate  
the results of other stores. Excluding these,  
the acquisition has enabled us to add 480,000 
square feet of net new store space with final 
acquisition and development costs of £325m  
as projected. 

Although early days, we are pleased with the 
customer response to the new stores, many  
of which were community stores operating  
with a limited range and high prices under the 
Somerfield fascia. As Morrisons, these stores 
offer a full weekly shop, with a strong fresh  
offer, at the normal nationwide prices charged 
throughout our estate. Whilst these stores are 
smaller than our average, being below 20,000 
square feet, we are confident that we can  
operate this size of store very successfully.  
There are now 96 such stores in our estate, and 
we expect that smaller store formats will form  
an important element of our ongoing new space 
acquisition strategy. 

The combination of our organic store opening 
programme and the Co-operative/Somerfield 
acquisition has given us a great next step  
in our move from National to Nationwide.

Market Street performed particularly well,  
not only because of our very sharp everyday 
pricing but because we are able to offer  
deeper, more attractive promotions on fresh 
products, supported by our own preparation 
facilities, than our competitors who do not  
have this capability. 

Sales of our own label ‘Value’ range grew  
by 34% as consumers tightened their belts  
in a challenging economic environment. Many 
of these products were relaunched in the year,  
and they are routinely blind-tasted to ensure 
their quality is as good as the best in the 
market, whilst being significantly better value. 
Sales of organic and fair-trade products 
continued to decline, with consumers unable  
or unwilling to bear the premium prices that 
these products command. We did however  
see a resurgence in sales of the healthy eating  
‘Eat Smart’ range following a relaunch,  
up 7%, reflecting consumers’ continuing 
demand for a healthier diet and their concern 
over the nutritional value of the food they eat.

Our broadening appeal and involvement in  
the community is reflected in the expansion  
of our award winning ‘Lets Grow’ initiative in 
which we provide free gardening equipment  
and materials to schools to teach children how  
to grow food. The scheme has been a huge 
success with over 22,500 schools, throughout 
the country, including 60% of UK primary 
schools registering to take part. During the  
year we dispatched thousands of pieces of  
free gardening equipment to participating 
schools and the initiative was a grand prix 
winner at the Institute of Practitioners in 
Advertising Effectiveness Awards 2009.

the uK grocery retail market
The consumer continued to face a  
difficult economic environment last year. 
Unemployment and the fear of unemployment, 
limited credit availability, the impact of tax 
increases and, with an election due in 2010, 
uncertainty about future government tax and 
fiscal policy, all affected consumer confidence 
and behaviour. Although commodity prices 
continued to ease, the cost of an average 
shopping basket rose year-on-year, partly due  
to the weakness of Sterling. Kantar reported 
that in the year to January 2010 grocery  
market growth was 4.7%. 

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

17

Optimisation Plan
Our Optimisation Plan, first launched in 2006, 
concluded in January 2010, with all major 
milestones achieved or exceeded. In total, 
sustainable annual EBITDA1 improvements 
of £526m have been delivered through the 
various initiatives contained in the Plan.

In the year ahead, we plan to roll-out the new 
EPOS system to all stores, to implement new 
manufacturing systems into our packing houses 
and to begin the roll-out of the warehouse 
management system. Additionally, we will begin 
to populate the new product master file which 
will, in due course, replace our legacy system.

The next phase of the programme is expected  
to involve further investment of £200m over  
the three years to 2013. The Board recognises 
the strategic importance of this activity, and  
has established a separate committee to provide 
appropriate oversight. Independent project 
assurance is provided by KPMG. 

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
We continued to work hard on our CSR 
programme which is a key focus of our 
management agenda. We have made great 
progress in meeting the challenging targets  
we set out when the programme was launched 
three years ago. 

Our commitment to helping cut food waste  
saw the launch during the year of a major new 
initiative called ‘Great Taste Less Waste’, which 
gives practical tips on how to store food more 
effectively. Key elements of the programme 
include ‘Best Kept’ stickers on packs giving 
storage advice and recipe ideas on how to  
make the most of leftovers.

We completed the conversion of our filling 
station pumps to highly efficient vapour recovery 
pumps which emit much reduced levels of fuel 
vapour into the atmosphere, a £16m investment 
in improved environmental performance.

During the year, our continuing work on store 
ranging and segmentation delivered good 
benefits, with all our major categories showing 
solid growth. We believe our management of the 
economics of promotions to be industry leading. 
As part of our commitment to continuous quality 
improvement and innovation we introduced 
some 3,000 new fresh and core grocery 
products. Additionally, our in-store efficiency 
benefited from the industry leading queue 
management self-scan checkout systems which 
we began rolling out in 2008. 

The Optimisation Plan included significant 
investment in infrastructure, and a key milestone 
was the opening, three months early, of our  
new Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) at 
Sittingbourne in Kent. The 900,000 square foot 
site services 65 stores in the South East, eases 
capacity issues created by our rapid growth in 
recent years and reduces the distance travelled  
in servicing these stores by around 22 million 
kilometres annually. We have now submitted a 
planning application for a new RDC in the South 
West, at Bridgwater, which will provide further 
capacity when needed in 2011/12 to support  
our National to Nationwide expansion. 

The roll-out of voice-picking technology across  
all our grocery warehouses has been completed 
and has proved particularly successful in 
increasing depot productivity and pick accuracy, 
and hence improving in-store availability. 

Replacement of our systems
The Optimisation Plan included the first phase 
(£110m) of a major programme of systems 
renewal, which will continue for a number of 
years. The programme will see the replacement 
of all the Group’s core systems, including store 
based point of sale, warehousing, manufacturing, 
supply chain, product management, HR, payroll 
and financial systems. 

Much of the work in 2009 related to systems 
design and development activity, but we also 
began implementation in a number of areas.  
We successfully delivered the first phase of our 
new financial systems, continued the roll-out  
of new HR and payroll processes (now covering  
82% of our employees) and implemented 
voice-picking into our distribution centres  
as mentioned above. This is already having  
a positive impact on the efficiency of our order 
fulfilment process. We have also installed 
self-scan checkout units in around 75% of  
our estate, implemented sophisticated queue 
management software into the majority of our 
stores and begun a pilot of our new Electronic 
Point of Sale (EPOS) system in store, which will 
provide a common platform replacing the five 
separate systems we currently operate.

The grocery sector continues to be under a  
close focus from the Office of Fair Trading  
(OFT), despite the findings of the Competition 
Commission that the sector is highly competitive. 
We always cooperate fully with such inquiries.  
In the case of the OFT investigation into milk, 
which began in 2004, we continue to believe 
strongly that Morrisons has no case to answer 
and have made representations in detail to  
this effect. Our view is unchanged by the 
Supplementary Statement of Objections issued 
by the OFT in July 2009. In the case of the 
tobacco inquiry which started in early 2003, 
there is a complex legal question as to whether 
well-established industry practices represented  
a breach of competition law. It is likely that this 
can only be settled clearly through a formal 
judicial process, although the OFT have indicated 
an intention to reach their own conclusion in  
the first quarter of 2010.

Operating results
Total turnover grew by 6% in the year with 
in-store sales increasing by 9%, reflecting  
strong like-for-like growth and the benefit  
of our investment in new space. Oil prices  
were lower than in the previous year and we 
maintained our competitive position. As oil 
prices began to fall so too did prices at the pump 
and this was reflected in a fall of 6% in fuel sales. 

Our gross profit grew ahead of turnover growth, 
in part reflecting a reduction of low margin fuel 
sales in the mix. We have continued to make 
good progress in delivering further supply chain 
benefits as our business expands as well as 
driving further outperformance from our gross 
margin Optimisation Plan initiatives. 

After cost of goods sold, the Group’s two  
biggest costs are store wages and distribution 
costs. The significant increase in new store  
space opened during the year and the higher 
proportion of smaller stores in that mix impacted 
our store labour costs performance. However,  
we continued to deliver further in-store labour 
efficiencies through Optimisation Plan initiatives, 
such as self-scan checkouts and queue 
management and these helped to deliver an 
overall year-on-year improvement in store labour 
costs relative to sales. Our distribution costs, 
measured on a cost per case basis, fell by 2%  
as we benefited from our investment in improved 
systems such as voice-picking in our warehouses 
and from a network rebalance following the 
opening of our new South East Regional 
Distribution Centre. 

Our administration expenses2 were up 12%, 
well below the level of profit growth. Increased 
investment in marketing in support of our 
significant sales momentum was largely offset  
by the negotiation of lower advertising rates.  
We incurred additional costs as the Group’s  
Long Term Incentive Plan programme was 
extended for a third year. 

2 Before pensions credit.

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

18

board of Directors

1. Sir ian gibson
Chairman
Sir Ian Gibson (aged 63) joined the Group as 
Non-Executive Deputy Chairman in September 
2007. He was appointed Chairman, following the 
retirement of Sir Ken Morrison, in March 2008. 
He is also Non-Executive Chairman of Trinity 
Mirror plc. Previous Board appointments include 
Chairman of BPB PLC, Deputy Chairman of Asda 
Group PLC, and a Director of Chelys Limited,  
GKN PLC, Greggs Plc and Northern Rock Plc.  
He is also a former member of the Court of the 
Bank of England. Sir Ian enjoyed a distinguished 
30-year career in the motor industry, most 
recently as President of Nissan Europe.

Executive Directors

Dalton philips
Chief Executive
We welcome Dalton Philips (aged 41) who joins  
us as Chief Executive from 29 March 2010.

2. mark gunter 
Group Retail Director
Mark Gunter (aged 51) joined the Group in 1986 
as a Store General Manager. In 1993, he was 
appointed Regional Director and subsequently 
Stores Director in 1999. He was appointed  
to the Board of the Group in 2000 as Group 
Store Operations Director with additional 
responsibility for retail operations, retail fuel, 
retail projects and Company-wide security. Prior 
to joining Morrisons, he gained wide experience 
in UK food retailing, which included working at 
Iceland, Fine Fare, Tesco, Argyll Foods and Asda.

3. martyn Jones 
Group Trading Director
Martyn Jones (aged 51) joined the Group in  
1990 after gaining wide buying, marketing and 
product development experience in fresh and 
frozen foods. After eight years with J Sainsbury, 
he moved into manufacturing with RHM and 
Campbells before joining Morrisons. Starting  
as Trading Manager for frozen foods, he was 
promoted to Trading Operations Director  
in 1993. He was appointed Grocery Director  
in 1997 and then Senior Trading Director  
in 2002. He was appointed to the Board  
as Group Trading Director in March 2007.  
He is also a member of the Corporate  
Compliance and Responsibility Committee.

8. paul manduca 
Senior Independent Director
Paul Manduca (aged 58) was appointed as a 
Non-Executive Director in September 2005.  
He is a member of the Nomination and 
Remuneration Committees and became the  
Chair of the Remuneration Committee from 
September 2009. He is also Chairman of Aon 
(UK) Limited and Henderson Diversified Income 
plc, and a Non-Executive Director of 
Development Securities PLC, JPMF European 
Fledgling Investment Trust Plc, JSC KazMunaiGas 
Exploration Production Plc, as well as other 
companies. He was the Chairman of Bridgewell 
Group plc until August 2007, when it was sold  
to Landsbanki Securities (UK) Ltd. Prior to that, 
he was the Global CEO of Rothschild Asset 
Management Limited and CEO of Deutsche  
Asset Management Europe.

9. nigel robertson 
Nigel Robertson (aged 50) joined the Group  
as a Non-Executive Director in July 2005.  
He is a member of the Audit, Nomination and 
Remuneration Committees, and became Chair  
of the Corporate Compliance and Responsibility 
Committee in September 2009. Working in the 
private equity sector, he is the Group Chief 
Executive of Covenant Healthcare Ltd. Until  
the business was sold in 2007 he was the Chief 
Executive Officer of Chelsea Stores Holdings  
Ltd and he was previously the Managing Director 
of Ocado, the online grocery shopping business 
set up in partnership with Waitrose. Prior to  
this he held senior positions in Marks and 
Spencer Group PLC both in the UK and USA.

10. Johanna Waterous 
Johanna Waterous (aged 52) joined the Group  
as a Non-Executive Director in February 2010. 
She is currently a Non-Executive Director of RSA 
Group Plc and Sandpiper CI, as well as being an 
Operating Partner of Global Leisure Partners.  
Her previous experience includes 22 years with 
McKinsey & Co, London, ultimately as Co-Leader 
of the firm’s Global Marketing and Sales Practice. 
She is a Non-Executive Director of the Kew 
Foundation, the Chair of Royal Horticultural 
Society Enterprises and a Trustee of English 
National Opera. Between 1998 and 2006,  
she was Chairman of Tate Enterprises.

4. richard pennycook 
Group Finance Director
Richard Pennycook (aged 46) joined the Board  
as Group Finance Director in October 2005.  
Prior to that, he was the Group Finance Director 
of RAC Plc, the quoted specialist motoring and 
vehicle management company. Previous senior 
roles include Group Finance Director of  
HP Bulmer Holdings PLC, Laura Ashley Plc  
and JD Wetherspoon plc and Chief Executive  
of Welcome Break Holdings plc. He is also  
a Non-Executive Director of Persimmon Plc.

Non-Executive Directors

5. philip Cox
Philip Cox (aged 58) joined the Group as a 
Non-Executive Director in April 2009. He is a 
member of the Audit Committee and became  
its Chair in September 2009. He is also Chief 
Executive Officer of International Power plc,  
a position that he has held since 2003, when  
he was promoted from his previous role of Chief 
Financial Officer (2000–2003). He is a member 
of the President’s Committee of the CBI. He was  
a Non-Executive Director at Wincanton Plc  
from 2001 to 2009, having chaired their Audit 
Committee from 2001 to 2008 and was Chair of 
their Remuneration Committee from 2008. His 
previous board position was as Chief Financial 
Officer at Siebe Plc.

6. brian Flanagan
Brian Flanagan (aged 57) was appointed to  
the Board as a Non-Executive Director in July 
2005. He is a member of the Audit, Nomination 
and Remuneration Committees. He is also a 
Non-Executive Director of The Financial Services 
Authority and is an adviser to Jet Environmental 
Systems. Previously, he worked for the Mars 
Corporation for 26 years and possesses broad 
international business experience. He has  
held senior management positions in finance, 
information systems, manufacturing, purchasing 
and was, most recently, the global Vice President 
of Business Transformation for Mars Inc.

7. penny hughes
Penny Hughes (aged 50) joined the Group  
as a Non-Executive Director in January 2010.  
She is currently a Non-Executive Director of  
Cable & Wireless Plc and Home Retail Group plc, 
the president of the Advertising Association  
and a trustee of the British Museum and she has 
recently accepted a Non-Executive Directorship 
of Royal Bank of Scotland. Her previous experience 
includes 10 years with Coca-Cola ultimately  
as president of Coca-Cola GB & Ireland and 
various non-executive roles including Body  
Shop International plc, GAP Inc, Reuters plc, 
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, Trinity Mirror  
plc and Vodafone plc.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

19

1

3

6

9

2

5

8

4

7

10

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

annual General Meeting
Notice of the 2010 AGM of the Company  
(to be held at the Company’s Head Office at  
Gain Lane in Bradford on 3 June 2010) is sent  
to shareholders. Shareholders will also receive 
notification of the availability of the Annual 
report and financial statements 2010 to view  
on the Group’s website, unless they have elected  
to receive printed shareholder communications.  
The Directors believe each of the resolutions to 
be proposed at the AGM is in the best interests 
of the Group and recommend shareholders to 
vote in favour of each of them.

A report explaining our governance policies and 
practices is given in the Annual report. The full 
terms of reference of the Audit, Remuneration 
and Nomination Committees, the schedule of 
matters reserved for the Board along with the  
full Corporate governance report can be found in 
the Annual report and on the corporate website,
www.morrisons.co.uk/corporate/investors/
corporate-governance 

20

Summary Directors’ report

Summary financial statement
The Summary financial statement on pages 26  
to 27, the Summary Directors’ remuneration 
report on pages 21 to 24 and the Summary 
corporate governance report below, are 
summaries of the information contained in the 
Annual report and financial statements 2010.

The aim of the Annual review is to provide 
shareholders with the key financial information in  
a clear and concise manner. Therefore the Annual 
review and Summary financial statement do not 
contain sufficient information to allow as full an 
understanding on the results of the Group, its 
state of affairs or the policies and arrangements 
concerning Directors’ remuneration, as is 
provided in the Annual report and financial 
statements. The Annual report and financial 
statements can be viewed and downloaded from 
our website and may also be obtained free of 
charge from the Company as noted in the 
Investor relations and financial calendar section 
at the back of this report.

auditors
The auditors have reported on the full Annual 
report and financial statements. Their report was 
unqualified and did not include a reference to any 
matters to which the auditors drew attention by 
way of emphasis without qualifying their report, 
and did not contain a statement under sections 
498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The Directors confirm that, so far as they are 
aware, there is no relevant audit information of 
which the auditors are unaware and that each 
Director has taken all reasonable steps to make 
themselves aware of any relevant audit 
information and to establish that the auditors  
are aware of that information.

A resolution to re-appoint KPMG Audit Plc as 
auditors and to authorise the Directors to set 
their remuneration is to be proposed at the 
forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Summary corporate governance report

This Summary corporate governance report  
is an extract from the Corporate governance 
report within the Annual report and  
financial statements for the 52 weeks ended  
31 January 2010.

Throughout the financial year 2009/10 the 
Group has complied with the provisions set out  
in Section 1 of the Combined Code and applied 
its principles, as reported below in this Corporate 
Governance report with the exception that at the 
beginning of the year, the Audit Committee did 
not have a member with recent relevant financial 
experience. With the appointment of Philip Cox 
as chair of the Audit Committee on 4 June 2009 
there is a member of the Audit Committee with 
recent and relevant financial experience.

During the year the Group has developed, and 
the Board has approved, a Corporate Governance 
Compliance Statement which sets out how the 
Group complies with each of the provisions of  
the Combined Code. That document also sets out 
the statement of the division of responsibilities 
between the Chairman and the Chief Executive 
Officer, the list of matters reserved to the Board, 
the membership of the Board and of the various 
Board Committees together with the terms of 
reference of the various standing Board 
Committees. This document is available in the 
Investor relations section of the Group’s website, 
www.morrisons.co.uk 

In light of recent Board changes, the process  
for the external review of the performance  
of the Board, which had been scheduled for  
the early part of 2010, has been postponed  
and will now take place in the second half  
of the current financial year. In the meantime, 
however, a review process has been 
commissioned as to the effectiveness of the 
individual board committees, and of their 
members, which will take place during the first 
half of the current financial year. That committee 
review will be conducted by an external agency 
and the results and any major findings of  
that process will be considered and, as 
appropriate, acted upon in the second half  
of the financial year. 

The Board is satisfied that, in the light of changed 
circumstances that exist at the time of the 
publication of this report, the arrangements for 
review and appraisal of the performance of the 
Board, its Committees and individual Directors 
are appropriate. The Board is also confident that 
the initiatives it has commenced will enable the 
Group to satisfy any recommendations of the 
revised Combined Code (the UK Corporate 
Governance Code) in relation to Board evaluation 
which it is understood will come into force during  
the current financial year. 

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

21

Summary Directors’ remuneration report

This Summary Directors’ remuneration report  
is an extract from the Directors’ remuneration 
report contained within the Annual report and 
financial statements for the 52 weeks ended  
31 January 2010. The full remuneration  
report can be viewed on the corporate website,  
www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

The members of the Remuneration Committee 
are shown in the Corporate governance report 
within the Annual report and financial statements 
2010. Advisers to the Remuneration Committee 
are Hewitt New Bridge Street on remuneration 
matters, Pension Capital Strategies Limited  
(a member of the Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group) 
in respect of pensions, and Ashursts in respect  
of Executive Directors’ contracts.

Dear Shareholder

The Remuneration Committee reviews, on a regular basis, the operation and overall 
competitiveness of the total remuneration packages for Executive Directors and senior executives.

Following a review at the end of 2008/09 of the Company’s remuneration arrangements against 
the stated remuneration policy, and in light of the Company’s performance, the Committee 
concluded that incentive pay needed to increase to enable the Company to pay its executives 
competitively. However, taking into account the views of certain shareholders and representative 
bodies, and with support from the Company’s Executive Directors, the Committee concluded that 
the proposals were not appropriate to the wider external climate at that time and were withdrawn. 
The Committee, however, remained clear that incentive pay needed to increase to enable the 
Company to pay its executives competitively where success was demonstrated. Accordingly,  
in 2009/10, the Committee re-considered the position and decided that it is vital that the 
Company’s remuneration arrangements are positioned competitively (the recruitment of a  
new Chief Executive has re-emphasised how important this is to the business).

Therefore, the Committee has decided to:

•  maintain Executive Director base salary levels;

•  increase the maximum annual bonus potential for Executive Directors from 100% of base 

salary to 200% of base salary for 2010/11. Bonus potential will also be increased for other  
less senior executives. Reflecting the increased bonus potential, the bonus vesting schedule  
has been made more stretching;

•  introduce bonus deferral, so that 50% of any bonus payable to Executive Directors is deferred 

in shares for three years; and

•  increase the level of Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) awards for Executive Directors 

(with the exception of the incoming Chief Executive) for 2010/11 from 200% of salary to  
240% of salary. The incoming Chief Executive will receive an LTIP award equal to 275% of salary. 
These award levels are within the individual limit of 300% of salary contained in the LTIP rules.

As a result of these changes, the Executive Directors’ ongoing total remuneration, with base  
salary at current levels and a greater focus on performance-related elements, will be consistent 
with the stated remuneration policy in the Summary Directors’ remuneration report which follows 
and will be broadly comparable to the packages provided by the Company’s key competitors.  
The Committee considers that this is critical to the Group’s future success and the recruitment  
and retention of key individuals.

During the year, the Committee has also had to deal with the change of Chief Executive. Details  
of the termination arrangements for Marc Bolland, and Dalton Philips’ ongoing remuneration 
package from appointment on 1 March 2010 (which is consistent with the revised Executive 
Director remuneration policy) and share awards required to facilitate his recruitment, are set  
out in the Summary Directors’ remuneration report which follows. Following Marc Bolland’s 
resignation the Remuneration Committee considered that it was responsible and commercially 
appropriate to secure the services of Richard Pennycook and Mark Gunter. The Committee, 
therefore, very quickly took certain steps to this end and agreed to an additional LTIP award of 
100% of salary to these two individuals, in addition to the 200% of salary award already received 
in 2009/10 and within the 300% of salary annual limit contained in the LTIP rules.

More details of all of these changes are set out in the Summary Directors’ remuneration report 
which follows.

Paul Manduca
Chair of the Remuneration Committee

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

22

Summary Directors’ remuneration report – continued

Remuneration policy
The Remuneration Committee remains of the 
view that the Company’s remuneration policies:

Benefits in kind include transport costs, private 
health provision, telephone expenses and a staff 
discount entitlement.

•  should encourage a strong performance culture 
and emphasise long term shareholder value 
creation, with clear links between executive 
performance goals and business strategy; and

•  need to be positioned competitively in relation 
to its major competitors to enable it to attract, 
retain and motivate the best talent which  
has been key to the Company’s success over  
the last few years and will be critical to its 
future performance.

To achieve this, the Committee aims to:

•  position base salaries around the mid-market;

•  operate a competitive suite of annual and 
long term incentives, so that a substantial 
proportion of total remuneration is subject  
to performance and so that executives are 
aligned with shareholders through share  
awards and share ownership; and

•  ensure that total remuneration packages are 
competitive against the market, particularly  
the Company’s major competitors.

Performance-related versus  
fixed remuneration
(Percentage %)

Target

Maximum

0

20

40

60

80

100

 Fixed pay (base salary and pension, excluding benefits)
 Bonus
 LTIP

The chart above demonstrates the balance 
between fixed and performance-related pay  
for the 2010/11 financial year for the incoming 
Chief Executive.

Base salary and benefits
Base salaries are normally reviewed annually in 
the light of personal performance, benchmark 
data and internal relativities. The factors used  
for this review are detailed in the full Directors’ 
remuneration report. No increases have been 
awarded following the annual base salary review. 
Current base salaries together with the previous 
salaries are set out below:

D Philips*
M Gunter
R Pennycook
M Jones
*Appointed March 2010

2010/11

£800,000
£540,750
£540,750
£450,000

2009/10

–
£540,750
£540,750
£450,000

will be payable for the achievement of strategic 
corporate scorecard measures or personal 
objectives unless the minimum profit target  
has been achieved.

long term Incentive Plan
The Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) is designed 
to reward management for achieving the Group’s 
strategic objectives and to provide an appropriate 
level of long term performance pay.

Each year, participants receive conditional awards 
of shares in the Group which will normally vest 
three years after they are awarded subject to the 
satisfaction of performance conditions measured 
over a three-year period and continued service. 
The plan’s individual annual limit is 300% of 
salary (face value of shares). In 2009, an award 
was made at the 250% level to Marc Bolland as 
the then Chief Executive (which has now lapsed 
on his termination of employment) and at the  
200% level for the other Executive Directors.

As noted above, following the resignation of 
Marc Bolland, a further LTIP award was made  
to Richard Pennycook and Mark Gunter at the 
100% of salary level. The same LTIP rules and 
performance conditions apply to these awards  
as apply to the other 2009 awards.

Following the Remuneration Committee’s review 
of remuneration, Executive Directors, with the 
exception of the incoming Chief Executive, will 
receive an LTIP award in 2010/11 equal to 240% 
of base salary, instead of the 200% granted in 
previous years. The incoming Chief Executive will 
receive an award in 2010/11 of 275% of salary.

Performance measures will be 75% based  
on earnings per share (EPS) and 25% based  
on like-for-like non-fuel sales growth. These 
performance metrics were selected for the 
following reasons:

•  they are directly linked to the objectives set 
out in the Group’s strategy – improving EPS  
and sales performance reflects the need for 
basic profit growth and should flow through  
to increased shareholder value;

annual bonus
An annual bonus plan was operated for Executive 
Directors and other senior managers during 
2009/10. The maximum bonus was 100%  
of base salary, with performance measures  
and weightings as set out below.

Measures 

% of bonus potential

Profit before tax, 
excluding exceptionals
Strategic corporate 
scorecard measures
Personal objectives

65%

20%
15%

The scorecard measures focussed on financial 
objectives, operational excellence, customers and 
employees. No bonus would have been payable 
for the achievement of the scorecard measures  
or personal objectives unless the minimum profit 
target had been achieved.

Details of the actual amounts paid for 2009/10 
are set out in the Directors’ emoluments table  
on page 24. Profit outperformed the Company’s 
initial expectations and the maximum target set 
for this element of the bonus plan, resulting in an 
award of 100% of the potential bonus payable for 
this measure. A high level of overall performance 
has resulted in an award of 90% of the potential 
bonus payable for the scorecard measures and 
payments of between 95% and 100% for 
personal objectives.

Following the review of remuneration referred  
to above, the 2010/11 maximum bonus potential 
for Executive Directors has been increased to 
200% of base salary, with 50% of any bonus 
payable deferred in shares for three years. These 
deferred shares are normally forfeited if the 
individual leaves the Company prior to vesting.

The performance measures and weightings for 
the 2010/11 bonus are set out in the table below.

Measures 

% of bonus potential

Profit before tax,  
excluding exceptionals
Strategic corporate  
scorecard measures 
Personal objectives

60%

30%
10%

•  there is a clear line of sight between 

performance and reward; and

•  they are relatively easy to understand 

and communicate.

For the profit measure 42% of the bonus 
potential will be payable for target performance, 
which is a reduction on the 50% opportunity 
available in 2009/10. In addition, reflecting the 
increase in potential bonus, there will be a 
significantly greater level of outperformance of 
plan profit to receive full payment. The threshold 
profit target, at which point bonuses begin to 
accrue, is higher than the 2009/10 out-turn.

Scorecard measures for 2010/11 will focus on 
delivery of major strategic projects; employee 
related objectives; continued sales growth and 
actions to increase operating margin. No bonus 

No awards can vest under the sales targets  
unless the threshold EPS target has been met.

For the awards intended to be granted in  
April 2010, the following targets will apply.

25% of the EPS related component of the award 
will vest if the Group’s Underlying EPS grows in 
line with the growth in the Retail Prices Index 
plus an average of 4% per annum, rising on a pro 
rata basis until 100% vests for outperforming the 
index by at least 10% per annum.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

25% of the sales growth related component  
of the award will vest if the Group’s like-for-like 
sales match the IGD (Institute of Grocery 
Distribution) Index, rising on a pro rata basis  
until 100% vests for outperforming the Index  
by at least 2% over the three years ending with 
the 2012/13 financial year. Like-for-like sales  
is defined as the reported sales from existing 
space (excluding VAT), less total fuel sales.  
As has been the previous practice, no part  
of the award relating to sales growth can vest 
unless the minimum EPS target is achieved.

The Remuneration Committee considers that  
the targets set out above are more demanding 
compared to those set in 2009, reflecting the 
increased award levels for senior executives.

Share ownership guidelines
The Group operates share ownership guidelines 
for Executive Directors. Under the guidelines, 
Executive Directors are expected to retain 50% 
of vested share awards (net of tax) until such time 
as they own shares worth 100% of their salary 
after which point they will be expected to retain, 
as a minimum, this level of holding.

Pension arrangements
The Executive Directors (with the exception of 
Marc Bolland who received a salary supplement 
equal to 30% of salary during the year) 
participate in the Morrisons Defined Benefit 
Pension Scheme. From 5 October 2009, the  
basis of future pension accrual changed from  
final salary to career average revalued earnings 
(CARE). Benefits earned under the previous final 
salary arrangement are preserved at that date 
and will increase in line with the Retail Prices 
Index (RPI) to the date of leaving the Group. 
Under these new defined benefit arrangements, 
pension entitlements for participating Executive 
Directors accrue at the rate of a maximum of  
3% for each year, which is a reduction from the 
previous maximum final salary accrual of three 
and one third percent.

The maximum pension of two-thirds pensionable 
salary at age 62 has been retained for CARE 
accrual. Pensionable pay for the Executive 
Directors is annual salary as at 6 April each year. 
Mark Gunter, Richard Pennycook and Martyn 
Jones are all subject to a Company maximum 
earnings limit which is currently £123,600 and is 
reviewed annually from 1 April in line with RPI.

Mr Pennycook, Mr Gunter and Mr Jones, who 
were all subject to the pensions earnings cap in 
place before April 2006 which has been retained 
for benefits accruing thereafter, received a cash 
supplement of 15% of basic salary in excess of the 
Company maximum earnings limit in 2009/10.

Dalton Philips receives a pension supplement 
equal to 25% of base salary.

23

appointment of new Chief executive
Dalton Philips was appointed Chief Executive 
from 1 March 2010. A summary of his ongoing 
remuneration package, which is consistent with 
the existing Executive Director remuneration 
policy as outlined above, is as follows:

•  base salary: £800,000 per annum;

•  annual bonus: 200% of base salary maximum 
potential, to be reduced pro rata for 2010/11 
service, with 50% of any bonus deferred into 
shares for a period of three years;

•  LTIP: 275% of base salary (with the first award 

to be granted in April 2010); and

•  pension: supplement equal to 25% of annual 

base salary.

Additionally, in order to facilitate his recruitment, 
Mr Philips will shortly be granted the following 
share awards to compensate him for share awards 
forfeited upon leaving his previous employer and 
where vesting was dependent upon continued 
employment with no performance conditions:

•  an unrestricted share award over the 

Company’s shares to a value of £940,000 at  
the grant date. The award will be granted on an 
unrestricted basis as it is designed to replace an 
award which was due to vest in March 2010; and

•  a restricted share award over the Company’s 

shares to a value of £356,000 at the grant date 
and which will vest on 25 March 2012 subject  
to continued employment.

The above awards, which are non pensionable, 
will be granted pursuant to the authority 
contained in Listing Rule 9.4.2R2.

The Remuneration Committee confirms that  
it is of the view that the package agreed with  
Mr Philips is appropriate and that the Company  
is not paying any more than was necessary to 
facilitate his recruitment.

Performance graph
The graph below shows the Company’s total 
shareholder return (TSR) compared with the TSR 
of the FTSE 100 and FTSE Food & Drug Retailers 
indices over the five year period to 31 January 
2010. These indices have been selected as being 
appropriate in giving a broad equity view and the 
Company is a constituent of both indices.

total shareholder return  

executive Directors’ contracts
All Executive Directors have a service agreement 
without expiry dates. These contracts can be 
terminated by either the Group or the relevant 
Director giving 12 months’ notice.

The Remuneration Committee has in place  
a model contract which provides that any 
compensation provisions for termination without 
notice will only extend to 12 months of salary, 
benefits and pension (which may be payable in 
instalments and subject to mitigation). Going 
forward all new Director contracts will be on that 
basis. The model contract does not contain 
change of control provisions. This policy was 
applied to Marc Bolland at the time of his 
recruitment and to Mark Gunter and Martyn 
Jones from 2007 and was applied to Dalton 
Philips on his recent recruitment. Richard 
Pennycook’s contract provides that he has  
an obligation to mitigate his loss in the event  
of termination in breach of contract.

All Executive Directors have rolling contracts 
with a 12 month notice period.

Marc Bolland tendered his resignation on  
18 November 2009, following his decision  
to join Marks and Spencer Group plc. Under the 
terms of Mr Bolland’s termination arrangements 
the Company and Mr Bolland agreed that:

•  his employment terminated on 1 February 2010;

•  he would not take up any other employment 

until after 30 April 2010;

•  he would receive payment in lieu of notice 

of £282,331 for the period from 1 February 
2010 to 30 April 2010, comprising salary, 
pension and other benefits in kind;

•  he relinquished all rights to an annual 

bonus payment in respect of the financial  
year ended 31 January 2010; and

•  all outstanding awards under the Company’s 

Long Term Incentive Plan lapsed, including the 
2007 award that would otherwise have vested 
and been paid had he remained employed for 
his full 12 month notice period.

The Remuneration Committee is satisfied that  
it has exercised its discretions appropriately  
and that Mr Bolland is being paid no more  
than is contractually necessary.

l

i

g
n
d
o
h
0
0
1
£
l
a
c
i
t
e
h
t
o
p
y
h
f
o
e
u
l
a
V

180

160

140

120

100

80

60

30 Jan 05

29 Jan 06

4 Feb 07

3 Feb 08

1 Feb 09

31 Jan 10

 Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC 

 FTSE All Share Food & Drug Retailers Index 

 FTSE 100

Source: Thomson Reuters

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24

Summary Directors’ remuneration report – continued

non-executive Directors’ contracts
Brian Flanagan, Paul Manduca, Susan Murray and Nigel Robertson were appointed for a three year period from their original dates of appointment in 
2005. Following the expiry of this initial period, each was re-appointed in 2008 for a further three year term, unless otherwise terminated earlier by,  
and at the discretion of, either party upon one month’s written notice. Susan Murray ceased to be a Director on 31 December 2009. Sir Ian Gibson was 
appointed to the Board for a three year period from 1 September 2007 unless otherwise terminated earlier by, and at the discretion of, either party upon 
12 months’ written notice. Sir Ian was appointed as Non-Executive Chairman on 13 March 2008. Philip Cox and Penny Hughes were appointed to the 
Board for a three year term on 1 April 2009 and 1 January 2010 respectively. Johanna Waterous was appointed to the Board for a three year term on  
1 February 2010.

Non-Executive Directors receive no benefits from their office other than fees and staff discount entitlement, and are not eligible to participate  
in the Group’s pension arrangements. The Chairman’s fee has not been increased since it was set in September 2007 when he joined the Company  
as Non-Executive Deputy Chairman. Fee levels for Non-Executive Directors have remained unchanged since they were last increased in May 2008. 
Current fee levels are shown in the table below:

name

P Cox
B Flanagan
I Gibson
P Hughes
P Manduca
N Robertson
J Waterous

Base 
£000

60
60
300
60
60
60 
60

Committee Chairmanship 
£000

10
–
–
–
10
10 
–

Directors’ emoluments and pension entitlements
The emoluments of the Directors were as follows:

Senior  
Independent  
Director 
£000

–
–
–
–
20
–
–

total 
£000

70
60
300
60
90
70
60

name

non-executive Chairman
I Gibson
executive Directors
M Bolland1
M Gunter1, 2 
M Jones1, 2
R Pennycook1, 2
non-executive Directors
P Cox3
B Flanagan
P Hughes3
P Manduca 
S Murray4
N Robertson 
Former Directors
K Morrison4
R Owen4
Total

Directors  
salaries/fees 
£000

Benefits  
in kind 
£000

Pension  
Supplement 
£000

annual  
Bonus 
£000

total year to  
31 Jan 2010 
£000

total year to  
1 Feb 2009 
£000

300

850
541
450
541

54
60
5
90
61
63

–
–
3,015

–

54
38
32
31

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
155

–

255
63
49
63

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
430

–

–
530
438
530

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
1,498

300

1,159
1,172
969
1,165

54
60
5
90
61
63

–
–
5,098

279

1,700
1,054
819
1,011

–
56
–
84
66
56

84
949
6,158

1  An LTIP award granted to Marc Bolland on 24 May 2007 vested in full on 15 September 2009. Mr Bolland received 294,256 shares when the share price was 285.8p and a cash sum of £42,961 as 

payment for the equivalent of dividends that would have been paid on the vested shares during the period between 1 September 2006 and the vesting date. A deferred share award granted to Richard 
Pennycook in 2007 vested in full on 1 April 2009. Mr Pennycook received 309,073 shares when the share price was 254.25p and a cash sum of £27,739 as payment for the equivalent of dividends 
that would have been paid on the vested shares during the period between the deemed date of award and the vesting date. Mark Gunter and Martyn Jones exercised share options over the Company’s 
shares granted to them under the Company’s all employee Sharesave scheme, each realising a gain of £14,000.

2  Mark Gunter, Martyn Jones and Richard Pennycook also participate in the Morrisons Defined Benefit Pension Scheme as set out on page 23.
3  Philip Cox was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on 1 April 2009 and Penny Hughes was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on 1 January 2010.
4  Sir Kenneth Morrison resigned from the Board with effect from 13 March 2008; Roger Owen resigned from the Board with effect from 1 February 2009; and Susan Murray resigned from the Board 

with effect from 31 December 2009.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

25

Independent auditors’ statement to the  
members of wm Morrison Supermarkets PlC

We have examined the Summary financial 
statement for the 52 week period ended  
31 January 2010 which comprises the Summary 
consolidated statement of comprehensive 
income, Summary consolidated balance sheet, 
Summary consolidated cash flow statement  
on pages 26 to 27 and Summary Directors’ 
remuneration report set out on pages 21 to 24.

This statement is made solely to the Company’s 
members, as a body, in accordance with section 
428 of the Companies Act 2006. Our work has 
been undertaken so that we might state to the 
Company’s members those matters we are 
required to state to them in such a statement  
and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent 
permitted by law, we do not accept or assume 
responsibility to anyone other than the Company 
and the Company’s members as a body, for our 
work, for this statement, or for the opinions we 
have formed.

Respective responsibilities of  
Directors and auditors
The Directors are responsible for preparing  
the Annual review in accordance with applicable 
United Kingdom law.

Our responsibility is to report to you our opinion 
on the consistency of the Summary financial 
statement within the Annual review with the  
full Annual financial statements, the Directors’ 
report and the Directors’ remuneration  
report, and its compliance with the relevant 
requirements of section 428 of the Companies 
Act 2006 and the regulations made thereunder.

We also read the other information contained  
in the Annual review and consider the 
implications for our report if we become  
aware of any apparent misstatements or  
material inconsistencies with the Summary 
financial statement.

Basis of opinion
We conducted our work in accordance with 
Bulletin 2008/3 The auditor’s statement on  
the Summary financial statement in the United 
Kingdom issued by the Auditing Practices  
Board. Our report on the Group’s full annual 
financial statements describes the basis of our 
audit opinion on those financial statements,  
the Directors’ report and the Directors’ 
remuneration report.

Opinion
In our opinion the Summary financial statement 
is consistent with the full Annual financial 
statements, the Directors’ report and the 
Directors’ remuneration report of Wm Morrison 
Supermarkets PLC for the 52 week period ended 
31 January 2010, and complies with the applicable 
requirements of section 428 of the Companies 
Act 2006 and the regulations made thereunder.

We have not considered the effects of any events 
between the date on which we signed our report 
on the full annual financial statements (10 March 
2010) and the date of this statement. 

Chris Hearld
for and on behalf of KPMG Audit Plc,  
Statutory Auditor
Chartered Accountants

1 The Embankment
Neville Street
Leeds
LS1 4DW

15 April 2010

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

26

Summary financial statement

52 weeks ended 31 January 2010

SuMMaRy COnSOlIDateD StateMent OF COMPReHenSIve InCOMe

turnover

Gross profit

Other operating income
Administrative expenses
Profits arising on property transactions
Operating profit

analysed as:
Operating profit before pensions credit
Pensions credit within administrative expenses
Operating profit

Net finance costs
Profit before taxation
Taxation
Profit for the period attributable to the owners of the Company

Other comprehensive expense for the period, net of tax

total comprehensive income for the period

Earnings per share (pence) 

– basic
– diluted

SuMMaRy COnSOlIDateD BalanCe SHeet 

Property assets
Current assets and liabilities (excluding debt)
Deferred tax
Net pension
Provisions
Net debt
net assets

Called-up share capital
Share premium
Merger reserve
Retained earnings and other reserves
total equity

note

2010 
£m

2009 
£m

15,410

14,528

1,062

65
(224)
4
907

816
91
907

(49)
858
(260)
598

(61)

537

913

37
(281)
2
671

671
–
671

(16)
655
(195)
460

(58)

402

2
2

22.80
22.37

17.39
17.16

2010 
£m

7,666
(1,161)
(515)
(17)
(100)
(924)
4,949

265
92
2,578
2,014
4,949

2009 
£m

7,079
(1,284)
(472)
(49)
(112)
(642)
4,520

263
60
2,578
1,619
4,520

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

 
 
SuMMaRy COnSOlIDateD CaSH FlOw StateMent

Cash generated from operations
Proceeds from disposals
Capital expenditure
Shares repurchased for cancellation
Sale and issue of shares
Tax, interest and servicing of finance
Dividends paid to equity shareholders
Cash flow 
Other non-cash movement
Opening net debt
Closing net debt

1 Ordinary dividends

Pence per share

Interim dividend
Final dividend
Total dividend

2010

1.080
7.120
8.200

2009

0.800
5.000
5.800

2008

0.675
4.125
4.800

27

2009 
£m

964
22
(678)
(146)
3
(145)
(131)
(111)
12
(543)
(642)

2006

0.625
3.075
3.700

2010 
£m

1,004
7
(906)
–
34
(260)
(159)
(280)
(2)
(642)
(924)

2007

0.625
3.375
4.000

A final dividend of 7.12p has been proposed, taking the total for the year to 8.20p. This represents total dividend growth of 41% (2009: 21%).  
Subject to approval at the AGM, the final dividend will be paid on 9 June 2010 to shareholders who are on the register of members on 7 May 2010.

2 earnings per share

Basic and diluted earnings per share, unadjusted (pence)

– basic
– diluted

Underlying earnings per share (pence)

– basic
– diluted

2010 
£m

22.80
22.37

20.47
20.08

2009 
£m

17.39
17.16

16.67
16.45

3 underlying earnings
The adjustments made to reported profits are:
(a) remove the impact of pension interest income volatility on the comprehensive income statement;
(b) remove the one-off pensions credit as a result of the move from final salary to career average revalued earnings (CARE);
(c) remove profits arising on property transactions since these profits do not form part of the Group’s principal activities; and
(d) apply an effective tax rate of 30%, being an estimated normalised tax rate. 

In the prior period, we have used the actual tax charge as the difference between the actual tax charge and normalised charge is not significant. 

Profit before tax 
Adjustments for:
Net pension interest cost/(income)
Pensions credit
Profits arising on property transactions
underlying earnings before tax
Taxation
underlying earnings after tax charge

2010 
£m

858

4
(91)
(4)
767
(230)
537

2009 
£m

655

(17)
–
(2)
636
(195)
441

Further information
Further information on our financial performance can be found in the Annual report and financial statements 2010. Details of how to obtain a copy  
of the Annual report are explained in the Investor information section at the back of this review.

The Annual review and Summary financial statement 2010 were approved by the Board on 15 April 2010. R Pennycook signed the Summary financial 
statement on behalf of the Board.

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010 

 
 
 
 
28

Investor relations and financial calendar

6 May 2010
7 May 2010
3 Jun 2010
9 Jun 2010
1 Aug 2010
9 Sep 2010
1 Oct 2010
4 Nov 2010
8 Nov 2010
30 Jan 2011
10 Mar 2011

FInanCIal CalenDaR 2010/11

Financial events and dividends
Quarterly management statement 
Final dividend record date 
Annual General Meeting 
Final dividend payment date 
Half year end 
Interim results announcement 
Interim dividend record date 
Quarterly management statement 
Interim dividend payment date 
Financial year end 
Preliminary results announcement 

Company Secretary
Greg McMahon

Registered office
Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC
Hilmore House
Gain Lane
Bradford
BD3 7DL
Telephone: 0845 611 5000
www.morrisons.co.uk

Investor Relations
Telephone: 0845 611 5710
Email: accinvr@morrisonsplc.co.uk

Corporate Social Responsibility enquiries
Telephone: 0845 611 5000

annual General Meeting
The AGM will be held at 11.00 a.m. on Thursday 3 June 2010 at  
Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Head Office, Gain Lane, Bradford  
BD3 7DL. A separate notice convening the meeting is sent to  
shareholders, which includes an explanation of the items of special 
business to be considered at the meeting.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan
The Company has a Dividend Reinvestment Plan which allows shareholders 
to reinvest their cash dividends in the Company’s shares bought in the 
market through a specifically arranged share dealing service. Full details  
of the plan and its charges, together with mandate forms, are available 
from the Registrars.

Morrisons website
Shareholders are encouraged to visit our website, www.morrisons.co.uk 
to obtain information on Company history, stores and services, latest 
offers, press information and a local store finder.

Share price information
The Investor information section of our website provides our current  
and historical share price data and other share price tools. Share price 
information can also be found in the financial press and the Cityline  
service operated by the Financial Times. Telephone: 0906 843 3545.

Online reports and accounts
Our Annual and Interim Group financial statements are available to download 
from the website along with Corporate Social Responsibility reports and other 
financial announcements. The 2010 Annual report is also available to view in 
html format at www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10 

The information in the Annual report and financial statements, Annual review 
and Summary financial statement and the Interim reports is exactly the same 
as in the printed version.

environmental matters
The effect of our business on the environment is something that Morrisons 
takes very seriously. In the production of the 2010 Annual reports, we have 
contributed to the reduction in environmental damage in the following ways:

a) Website
Shareholders receive notification of the availability of the results to view on  
the Group’s website, www.morrisons.co.uk, unless they have elected to receive 
a printed version of the results. The full Annual report is available for viewing 
or downloading from the corporate website www.morrisons.co.uk

Shareholders are encouraged to view the report on the website which is exactly 
the same as the printed version, but using the internet has clear advantages 
such as lowering costs and reducing the environmental impact.

b) Recycled paper
This document has been printed on recycled paper that is manufactured  
in mills with ISO 14001 accreditation from 100% recycled fibre. It is totally 
chlorine free and is an NAPM certified recycled product.

Photography and design
Permission to publish photographs was received from each individual.  
Where minors appear, parental approval was granted.

The Annual report and financial statements, the Annual review and Summary 
financial statement in both paper and HTML format, and the Corporate  
Social Responsibility report were designed and produced by salterbaxter. 
Telephone: 020 7229 5720.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

Contents and introduction

Investor relations and financial calendar – continued

29

ConTenTs

1  Highlights

2  Chairman’s statement

4  Business review

6  Strategy

8  A broad appeal
10  A simple model
12  A real difference
14   A simple commitment

16  Operating review

18  Board of Directors

20  Summary financial statement
20  Summary Directors’ report
20   Summary corporate  
governance report
21   Summary Directors’ 
remuneration report

25   Independent auditors’ statement
26  Summary financial statement

28   Investor relations and  
financial calendar

Our business 
We are the UK’s fourth largest food retailer by  
sales with an annual turnover in excess of £15bn.
We have 425 stores across Britain, ranging in size  
from 10,000 to 40,000 square feet.
Over 10 million customers visit our stores  
each week served by over 134,000 employees.

Our strategy and vision
Our vision is to be the ‘Food Specialist for Everyone’.
As a food specialist we differentiate ourselves  
from our major competitors by having:
•  our own manufacturing and packing facilities;
•  more people in-store preparing food than any  
  other retailer; and
•   more specialist butchers, fishmongers and bakers 

in-store than our competitors.

registrars and shareholding enquiries
Administrative enquiries about the holding of Morrisons shares,
such as change of address, change of ownership, dividend payments
and the Dividend Reinvestment Plan should be directed to:

Auditors
KPMG Audit Plc
1 The Embankment, Neville Street
Leeds LS1 4DW

Capita Registrars
Northern House
Woodsome Park
Fenay Bridge
Huddersfield
HD8 0GA

Telephone: 0871 664 0300 Overseas: +44 208 639 3399
Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras.

www.capitaregistrars.com

solicitors
Gordons LLP
Riverside West, Whitehall Road
Leeds LS1 4AW

Ashurst LLP
Broadwalk House, 5 Appold Street
London EC2A 2HA

Wragge & Co LLP
55 Colmore Row
Birmingham B3 2AS

stockbrokers
RBS Hoare Govett Limited
250 Bishopsgate
London EC2M 4AA

Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch Financial Centre
2 King Edward Street
London EC1A 1HQ

Investment bankers
NM Rothschild & Sons Limited
1 King William Street, London EC4N 7AR

Designed by salterbaxter
Printed by Pureprint Group

Cert no. SGS-COC-0620

shareholder information
The number of shareholders at 31 January 2010 were 46,959 (1 February 2009 were 43,949) and the number of shares in issue was 2,651,100,378  
(1 February 2009: 2,629,813,268)

Analysis by shareholder

Private shareholder
Nominee companies
Deceased accounts
Limited companies
Other institutions
Bank & bank nominees
Investment trusts
Pension funds
Family interests
Insurance companies

Analysis by shareholder

1–1,000
1,001–10,000
10,001–1,000,000
over 1,000,000

number of holders

% holders

Balance at 31 January 2010

% capital

40,627
5,532
336
248
79
59
34
29
9
6

87.09
11.86
0.72
0.53
0.17
0.13
0.07
0.06
0.02
0.01

432,006,887
2,156,765,323
659,413
4,891,206
17,244,002
34,077,574
340,782
5,038,065
10,401
66,725

16.30
81.35
0.02
0.18
0.65
1.29
0.01
0.19
0.00
0.00

number of holders

% holders

Balance at 31 January 2010

% capital 

24,503
19,611
2,537
308

52.18
41.76
5.40
0.66

11,007,279
57,192,577
251,183,410
2,331,717,112

0.42
2.16
9.47
87.95

View our report online...
You can easily navigate around the 2010 
Annual report and financial statements 
on-screen, viewing only the parts you want 
to. Information can be quickly and easily 
downloaded or viewed on-screen as PDFs.

Visit    www.morrisons.co.uk/
annualreport10

Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Annual review 2010 

www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Annual review 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC
Hilmore House
Gain Lane
Bradford
BD3 7DL
Telephone: 0845 611 5000

www.morrisons.co.uk

Information at your fingertips

Consumer
This area of our website allows you to learn more 
about Morrisons and our offering.

offers
•  Latest promotions
•  Specific product offerings
•  Competitions
•  Press releases/marketing

Great Taste, Less Waste
All about getting more meals for your money  
by reducing waste and making the most of fresh 
food. Includes how to store food and keep 
leftovers fresher for longer and more recipes.

seasonal
Guide on what to buy for, say, Easter, Christmas 
and those other special times of year.

Webcasts
Webcasts of the Directors delivering the 
preliminary results 2010 on 11 March 2010  
are available.

Shareholder information
Other relevant shareholder information  
is available, like share price history,  
financial calendar and AGM minutes.

market street
More about our unique in-store offering, along 
with video presentations of where our food 
comes from and how to buy, cook and present it.

Food
Information about our ranges, healthy eating and 
more mouth-watering recipes.

Drink
Information on how and what to buy, where our 
wines come from and, yes, more recipes.

ToDAy
Here you can find out about our Corporate  
and Social Responsibility ethos, including  
how we take good care of our environment, 
society and how we go about business.  
www.morrisons.co.uk/today

CorporATe
Work with morrisons
Career opportunities and information  
about working for Morrisons. For our  
dedicated recruitment website go to  
www.iwantafreshstart.com

Family life
From entertainments to bringing up baby and 
looking after your pets. Including gardening tips 
and even how to track where your eggs come 
from.

press office
Latest releases about the growing estate  
of Morrisons, along with promotions and  
product news.

Fresh food
Giving details of seasonal food and how and  
what to buy. 

Let’s Grow
Information about our Let’s Grow scheme, 
including how to register, facts, how it works and 
teaching resources.

Investors
User-friendly
Presentations, announcements and financial 
reports can be quickly and easily downloaded  
or viewed on-screen as PDFs. You can easily 
navigate around the Annual report and financial 
statements 2010 on-screen, viewing only the 
parts you want to  
www.morrisons.co.uk/annualreport10

Electronic communications
Electronic communications (eComms) is  
the fastest and most environmentally friendly  
way to communicate with our shareholders.

Instead of receiving paper copies of the annual 
and interim financial results, notices of 
shareholder meetings and other shareholder 
documents, you will receive an email to let you 
know this information is available on our website.

Visiting our website to obtain our results reduces 
our environmental impact by saving on paper and 
also reduces our print and distribution costs.

Sign up to eComms on our website at  
www.morrisons.co.uk/corporate/investors 
and follow the investor eComms link.

About morrisons
You will find information about the Group,  
its operations, its strategy and structure,  
and past financial information.

Keeping things simple

Annual review 2010