The market value of grocery retail in the United Kingdom (UK) increased from 120 billion in 2004 to 193.6 billion in 2019. The sector is dominated by four major players; Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons. Together, they account for about 68% of the market share of grocery stores in the UK as shown below.

The last three years selected figures and information from published financial statements (2017 2019) and notes to the accounts for Morrisons and Sainsbury are provided in the table below.

Figures from Income Statements and Statements of Financial Position are given in millions of pounds (m) and have been rounded to the nearest thousands (000s). Sainsbury financial year ends in March and Morrisons financial year ends in February.

Using the information provided in the tables above and any ratios that you have calculated, evaluate and discuss the performance of Morrisons plc and Sainsburys plc through-out the financial years 2017 2019.

Any ratios (profitability, liquidity / solvency, efficiency / working capital and investment ratios) that you have calculated should be in a table and do not form part of your word count. There is no need to include formulas for ratio calculations.

Tesco -Sainsbury's Asda Morrisons 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% Percentage share of total grocers 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Jan 17 Jun 17 Jan 18 Jun 18 Jan 19 Jun 19 Jan 20 Sainsbury's plc Morrisons plc FY 2018 From Income Statements (m) FY 2019 FY 2017 FY 2019 FY 2018 FY 2017 17,735 607 393 50 320 76 244 17,262 633 439 64 380 16,317 604 436 88 325 20 305 29,007 2,007 312 83 239 20 219 28,456 1,882 518 135 409 100 309 26,224 1,634 642 130 503 126 377 69 311 Revenue Gross profit Operating income / (loss) Interest expense Income before tax Tax Net income From Statements of Financial Position (m) Cash Net receivables Inventory Total current assets Total non-current assets Total assets Accounts payable Total current liabilities Total non-current liabilities Retained earnings Total equity 261 195 713 1,382 8,534 9,916 2,422 3,295 1,990 1,599 4,631 320 149 686 1,278 8,389 9,776 2,270 3,081 2,041 1,533 4,545 317 137 614 1,176 8,070 9,246 2,126 2,864 2,319 1,084 4,063 1,332 144 1,929 7,589 15,952 23,541 3,044 11,417 3,668 4,763 8,456 1,933 117 1,810 7,866 14,135 22,001 2,852 10,302 4,288 3,789 7,411 1,183 106 1,775 6,322 13,415 19,737 2,685 8,573 4,292 3,190 6,872 Other information Operating activities cash flow (m) Number of stores (UK) Share price (pence) Earnings per share (EPS in pence) Dividend per share (pence) 712 494 225.00 10.34 8.60 744 491 208.50 13.30 8.43 978 491 240.00 13.11 5.43 618 1,428 235.70 9.10 11.00 1,365 1,423 238.80 13.30 10.20 1,153 1,411 264.30 17.50 10.20 Tesco -Sainsbury's Asda Morrisons 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% Percentage share of total grocers 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Jan 17 Jun 17 Jan 18 Jun 18 Jan 19 Jun 19 Jan 20 Sainsbury's plc Morrisons plc FY 2018 From Income Statements (m) FY 2019 FY 2017 FY 2019 FY 2018 FY 2017 17,735 607 393 50 320 76 244 17,262 633 439 64 380 16,317 604 436 88 325 20 305 29,007 2,007 312 83 239 20 219 28,456 1,882 518 135 409 100 309 26,224 1,634 642 130 503 126 377 69 311 Revenue Gross profit Operating income / (loss) Interest expense Income before tax Tax Net income From Statements of Financial Position (m) Cash Net receivables Inventory Total current assets Total non-current assets Total assets Accounts payable Total current liabilities Total non-current liabilities Retained earnings Total equity 261 195 713 1,382 8,534 9,916 2,422 3,295 1,990 1,599 4,631 320 149 686 1,278 8,389 9,776 2,270 3,081 2,041 1,533 4,545 317 137 614 1,176 8,070 9,246 2,126 2,864 2,319 1,084 4,063 1,332 144 1,929 7,589 15,952 23,541 3,044 11,417 3,668 4,763 8,456 1,933 117 1,810 7,866 14,135 22,001 2,852 10,302 4,288 3,789 7,411 1,183 106 1,775 6,322 13,415 19,737 2,685 8,573 4,292 3,190 6,872 Other information Operating activities cash flow (m) Number of stores (UK) Share price (pence) Earnings per share (EPS in pence) Dividend per share (pence) 712 494 225.00 10.34 8.60 744 491 208.50 13.30 8.43 978 491 240.00 13.11 5.43 618 1,428 235.70 9.10 11.00 1,365 1,423 238.80 13.30 10.20 1,153 1,411 264.30 17.50 10.20