LONDON (Reuters) - Wm Morrison Supermarkets plans to buy back 1 billion pounds of shares and invest in new growth avenues as it battles to attract investors against a tough consumer backdrop.
The No.4 grocer said on Thursday it would accelerate its pace of new store openings, including a previously announced trial of convenience stores, and spend 32 million pounds on a 10 percent stake in U.S. internet grocer FreshDirect to help launch an online business.
Profit before tax and one-off items rose 13 percent to 869 million pounds in the year ended January 31, ahead of analysts' average forecast of 861 million pounds, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Estimates.
Morrisons said it would buy back shares over two years and commit to a double-digit percentage rise in dividends for the next three years.
(Reporting by Mark Potter, Editing by Kate Holton)
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