Morrisons has had a tough ride since taking over Safeway

The Bradford-based company said like-for-like sales were up 5% and stuck by its current profits forecast.

It said it was on track to have all 360 stores it bought from Safeway under the Morrisons banner by November.

Its takeover of Safeway transformed Morrisons into the fourth-largest UK food retailer.

The company paid �3bn for Safeway in 2003 after an intense bid battle.

Shake-up

However, Morrisons has struggled ever since, with profit warnings, a falling share price, and rumours of boardroom clashes.

More than �2bn has been wiped off the value of Morrisons since the Safeway takeover.

We believe this is as good as anybody, apart from Tesco, and better than many of our competitors Bob Scott, chief executive See Morrisons' share price

Last month, the group warned that profits for the year could be as little as �50m, confounding earlier forecasts of about �250m.

These warnings, and subsequent criticism of the way the firm was managed, prompted founder and chairman Sir Ken Morrison to step back from day-to-day running of the company.

After pressure from investors for more accountability, Morrisons appointed three non-executive directors to its board, while Sir Ken was left to focus on the firm's strategic vision.

"We are encouraged by the 5% like-for-like sales increase. We believe this is as good as anybody, apart from Tesco, and better than many of our competitors," said chief executive Bob Scott.