LONDON—British supermarket group Morrisons, at the centre of a bid battle between two U.S. private equity firms, on Thursday reported a 37.1 percent fall in first-half profit, hurt by COVID-19 costs and lost profit in cafes, fuel and food-to-go areas.
The group, which trails market leader Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda in annual revenue, maintained its full-year guidance but warned of some industry-wide retail price inflation during the second half, driven by sustained commodity price increases and freight inflation, and the current shortage of HGV drivers.
