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William Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN) Friday declined to comment on a report that the U.K.'s No. 4 supermarket group by market share will announce plans to sell its groceries online.

Earlier, The Sun newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said Chief Executive Dalton Philips is to announce the retailer's intended foray into Internet retailing with the company's interim results next Thursday. The Sun is owned by News Corp. (NWS.AU), publisher of this newswire.

A spokesman for the grocer said it wouldn't comment on rumor and speculation.

Philips, who left Canadian retailer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. (LBLCF) at the end of March, took up his position as Morrisons CEO on May 1, replacing Marc Bolland, who left to head up Marks & Spencer Group PLC (MKS.LN), the U.K.'s biggest clothing retailer by volume.

In May, Morrisons posted a 0.8% rise in first-quarter same-store sales excluding fuel and value added tax, compared with 8.2% a year earlier. In the 12 weeks to Aug. 8, its sales grew 6.9%--faster than rivals Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN), J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s (WMT) Asda Group Ltd.

Tesco is the market leader for online grocery retailing.

At 1007 GMT, Morrisons shares were down 0.1% at 291 pence, in a higher London market, valuing the company at GBP7.71 billion.

-By Simon Zekaria, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842-9410; simon.zekaria@dowjones.com