WM MORRISON SUPERMARKETS PLC

Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc



WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Introduction

Reasons for choosing Topic

Project Objectives

The project objectives are as follows;

To assess the business and financial performance of Morrison's over the three year period to 3rd February 2008.

To review the year on year performance of Morrison's with a view to assess the effectiveness of its strategies its readiness for the future.

To evaluate Morrison's competitive position in the grocery/supermarket industry.

Research Questions

The questions posed by this research are as follows;

How effective is Morrison's business and financial strategy over the three year period under review?

How did Morrison fare in comparison to its competition?

Is the company positioned to meet future challenges/changes?

How do Morrison's financial ratios compare to its competitors?

How does the company's year on year performance measure over the 3 year period under review?

Research Approach

The approach to be adopted in carrying out this research project is as follows;

Evaluate Morrisons business performance with the use of PESTEL, SWOT and Porter's 5 Forces analyses models.

Review key performance indicators of the supermarkets industry and measure Morrisons success in achieving them.

Calculate financial ratios including solvency, liquidity, efficiency, Investor and profitability ratios for Morrison's over the review period to determine trends and financial performance.

Review Morrison's performance and position in comparison to its main competitors.

Assess the adequacy of its current strategy for long term business growth and sustainability.

PART 2 - Information Gathering and Accounting/ Business techniques.

Information Sources

Annual Reports and summary financial statements

The main source of information for this study is the published financial statements of WM Morrisons Supermarket Plc and its main competitors for the three year period. The financial statements form the basis of the figures required to compute financial ratios and carry out trend analysis.

Texts on Financial analysis and Business Analysis

Books and texts on the types of ratios and the usefulness of various financial ratios were used in conducting this research. They provide the definition as well as formulae for computing them. They also give insight into interpretation and limitations of ratios. Text on business analysis and review like key performance indicators, balance scorecard, Porter's five forces were also used in this study.

Media and Internet sources

The news print and internet sources proved to be a veritable source of information. The ability to 'google' anything and everything on the topic was phenomenal. This provided the opportunity for extensive reading on Morrisons, Competitors activity, industry happenings, how to compute financial ratios amongst others. Information was obtained from online news sites like the BBC, The Telegraph, Financial Times and The London Stock Exchange as well as market research specialists' sites like TNS Worldpanel.

Methods used in collecting information

Information was collected mainly from secondary sources. Newspaper articles on Morrisons, Company profile from the London Stock Exchange, competitors and industry reports and industry position of respective retailers, company's annual reports were obtained online.

All the information gathered were obtained from different stakeholders to ensure that that a balance was achieved in terms of opinions and viewpoints. The annual report and financial review were generated internally so we used that to assess the business and ...