Profits down at Sainsbury’s in ‘pivotal’ year
Sainsbury’s has seen its full year profits decline by 8.2% in what it described as a pivotal year.
In the year to 11 March when Sainsbury’s acquired Home Retail Group and the Argos chain, pre-tax profit fell from £548 million to £503 million.
Group sales rose by 11.6% as the company benefited from strong sales of toys and electrical products at Argos. Like-for-like sales at Sainsbury’s supermarkets edged down 0.6%.
Mike Coupe, group chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “This has been a pivotal year and we have made significant progress delivering and accelerating our strategy. Sainsbury’s Group offers customers market-leading product choice, value and convenience, whenever and wherever they shop with us.”
Sainsbury’s said its online groceries business grew by over 8% in the period. Its Groceries App, which launched almost 12 months ago, now accounts for over 10% of orders to the online channel. Its convenience business grew by over 6%.
Coupe added: “Our food business remains resilient in a challenging market and we continue to innovate in quality and to invest in price. We are also investing in growth areas of the business to meet the changing ways that customers shop. Sainsbury’s design-led general merchandise and clothing both outperformed the market and we saw strong growth in Sainsbury’s groceries online and convenience channels.”
Sainsbury’s said it was pleased with the progress made since it acquired the Argos chain. Having opened 59 Argos digital stores in Sainsbury’s stores, the company is now accelerating plans to open a total of 250 Argos digital stores in the supermarkets.
Looking ahead, Coupe said: “The market is competitive, and it will remain so for the foreseeable future. We believe we have the right strategy in place and are taking the right decisions to achieve our vision to be the most trusted retailer where people love to work and shop.”
