Morrisons left investors in the dark

SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons knew that its profits were likely to be £200m below analysts' forecasts for two months before revealing the shortfall to investors, insiders say.

If it emerges that Wm Morrison - which bought Safeway last year - failed to keep shareholders up to date it could be seen as a breach of stock market regulations.

It puts the spotlight on Morrison's broker Hoare Govett and adviser ABN Amro, who arguably should have forced the retailer to come clean.

Even former Morrison finance director Martin Ackroyd, ousted last month, told the Mail he was 'upset' at the company's failure to guide on profits at the annual meeting on May 26.

Ackroyd, who was not involved in drafting the agm statement, said: 'I was surprised and disappointed at the way they could not forecast it.'

Sources say there was a general reluctance among Morrison executives and bankers to admit earnings were so poor. One said: 'It's ridiculous to suggest you can't make a forecast - they just didn't like the figures.'

He added that Morrison had been aware as early as March that underlying profits looked likely to slump to around £100m, but chairman Sir Ken Morrison was pinning his hopes on a recovery later in the year.

Morrison last night denied the allegations, saying: 'This is pure fiction. There is no truth whatsoever to the suggestion that Morrison has had material new information that was not disclosed to the market in a timely fashion, without delay'.

Sir Ken and his advisers told investors at the annual meeting that it would not be possible to forecast profits until September.

However, two weeks later, after pressure from the Financial Services Authority, Morrison admitted profits before tax and exceptionals were likely to fall to between £50m and £150m.

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