Britain’s fourth largest grocer has seen another big fall in sales for the third quarter, although the supermarket insisted that its overall performance showed “continued progress”.

In the 13 weeks to November 2nd, Morrisons announced a drop in total sales excluding food of 3.6% and like-for-like sales were down 6.3%.

In a statement, the company said: “As outlined at the interim results, it will take time for our initiatives to fully benefit our sales performance.

“In the meantime, we continue to see encouraging progress in all components of our strategy and in our volume-related key performance indicators (KPIs).”

The company opened 12 new stores under its convenience fascia M Local and three new core stores.

Dalton Philips, chief executive, said: “Morrisons is meeting the challenges created by a period of intense industry competition and structural change with quick and decisive action. I am encouraged by the further progress we have made, especially on a number of key operational measures, cash flow and costs.

“The launch of the Match & More card was another big move for Morrisons. We are the only supermarket that is price matching the discounters and the successful launch last month was a testament to the positive way our 120,000 colleagues are delivering innovation and embracing the changes at Morrisons.

“We look forward to the key Christmas period focussed on offering customers the best in quality fresh food and value for money that Morrisons is famous for."