Morrisons has posted that it achieved increased sales in the first quarter of 2025, as it announces raised targets of £1bn for its cost saving initiatives.

In the 13 weeks ending 26 January, the supermarket chain reported total sales up 2.4% to £4bn, while group like-for-like sales were also up by 2.1%.

The grocery retailer attributed the performance to the success of its loyalty scheme, with More Card-linked sales hitting a record high of 78%. Loyalty points are now awarded for every product purchased by scheme members.

The company added that it made £56m of cost savings in Q1, taking the total to £668m since the start of the programme. This has allowed it to raise its savings target from £700m to £1bn in the medium term.

Chief executive Rami Baitiéh said: “In the quarter we delivered a further £56m of cost savings and we expect to deliver the remainder of our £700m target ahead of schedule in the second quarter.

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“We are today increasing our target to £1 billion which will help us offset cost headwinds, invest for customers and remain competitive in a fast changing market.”

Elsewhere, Morrisons said it had further strengthened with a number of new senior hires. These include the appointment of Andrew Staniland as food group trading director, Matt Heslop as director of convenience and wholesale, and Matt McLellan as group data and media director.

Baitiéh added: “Despite a challenging environment, Morrisons has made exceptional progress in a very short time and that is entirely down to the hard work, positivity, talent and customer focus of the colleagues in our stores, in our foodmaking sites and in our operations across the country.

“As I outlined in January, the cyber attack on Blue Yonder caused a far reaching period of disruption across the businesses, affecting our stock accuracy, availability, waste and forecasting. Despite this I am very pleased that we are reporting an increase in like-for-like sales in the quarter of 2.1%.”

Earlier this month, the supermarket announced it was considering making 365 staff redundant, as it looked to shut 17 convenience stores, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies in a cost-cutting move.

The news came just days after it revealed it was to launch a ‘magic’ revamp of its fresh food counter concept, Market Street, as it overhauls its trading team and eyes future growth.