The UK’s third largest supermarket operator Morrisons has reported a 4.6 per cent increase in total sales excluding fuel in its third quarter trading statement for 2011, despite remaining cautious on the overall economic environment.

For the 13 weeks to 30 October 2011, like-for-like sales at the grocery retailer rose by 2.4 per cent compared with the same period a year before.

During the period, Morrisons opened 10 new stores, including its second convenience outlet, while it said it remained on track to meet its target of adding 600,000ft2 of new space by the end of the year.

In a statement, the retailer said it had also made good progress towards meeting a range of operating and strategic initiatives designed to generate profitable growth, by “increasing its efficiency and capturing new growth opportunities”.

Although Morrisons said the economic environment “remained challenging”, it said the good performance during the third quarter was in line with expectations, while the company’s financial outlook for the year was unchanged.

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