The group's dividend has been the source of intense market speculation over the last few days, with some investors suggesting it would be more prudent for the company to follow Tesco into a dividend cut.
However Morrisons said on Thursday that it would pay out 4.03p a share to shareholders, up 5pc on last year's interim dividend, despite like-for -like sales plunging 7.4pc. The board is also standing by its full-year pay-out and promised investors it would pay "not less than 13.65p".
Overall turnover dropped 4.9pc to £8.5bn for the half year, while pre-tax profits were £105m lower compared to the same period a year ago, falling to to £239m.
Morrisons has been criticised for arriving late to the convenience store and online markets while all of the big four supermarket chains have been under intense pressure from the seemingly unstoppable rise of the German discount chains, Aldi and Lidl.
The Yorkshire-based group responded in March by setting out a three-year plan which includes spending £1bn in lowering prices and improving its own brand range of food.
Morrisons' chief executive, Dalton Philips, said on Thursday that he was "encouraged" by the progress made so far.
He said: "There is an enormous amount of change and modernisation flowing through our core business, much of it enabled by new systems. Price investment, in-store improvements, and better products were all key components of the work undertaken in the first half, and the Morrisons card launches soon. Our new growth channels - online and convenience - are progressing well, and our cost-savings and cash flow plans are both on track to achieve our ambitious three-year targets."
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