
The chain is also set to launch into the online shopping market running what its chief executive Dalton Philips called a "limited trail".
Announcing its first half results, the retailer said that that the market had "remained challenging".
Morrisons recorded a jump in underlying pre-tax profits to £410m in the six months to August 1 – a leap of 14% on last year – which is reported to be ahead of City expectations.
Despite this, a statement from Morrisons insisted that the group was expecting a "low level of market growth in the remainder of 2010".
Sir Ian Gibson, Morrisons' non-executive chairman, said: "Our first half performance has been solid, in a tight market. At a time when value is a priority for everyone, we have continued our run of market-beating sales growth, attracting more customers to Morrisons than ever before, reflecting our broad appeal.
"Our new CEO, Dalton Philips, has made a great start in the business and, with the leadership team, is developing positive plans for the next phase of growth for Morrisons."
In a conference announcing the results, Philips, who joined the group following former CEO Marc Bolland's departure to Marks & Spencer, indicated three convenience stores, each less than 3,000 sq ft floorspace, would open in the first half of 2011, but did not confirm their locations.
These stores are set to challenge Tesco's Metro high street locations and Sainsbury's Local chain.
Morrisons has invested heavily in television advertising recently, with celebrity-packed advertising fronted by 'Top Gear'’s Richard Hammond, television presenter Denise Van Outen, and football pundit Alan Hansen. However, it decided to drop celebrities for its latest campaign, focusing on local communities.
Philips said: "Over the last six months I have spent time getting to know this great business and its people. Three observations stand out – Morrisons is a world class retailer, it has real and positive differences in its fresh offer, food production and craft skills, and there are many opportunities ahead to drive our top line, increase efficiencies in the business and to capture growth.
"Today we are outlining plans to build on our strengths and generate profitable growth."
In the period 2009/2010, the group opened 43 new stores, including 34 acquired from the Co-operative group, which were acquired at the end of 2008 and fitted out to Morrisons specifications.