Sainsbury’s boosted by strength of grocery performance
Sainsbury’s was boosted by the strength of its grocery performance in the year to 2 March as its food business “fired on all cylinders”.
During the period, the supermarket’s total sales increased by 3.4% to £36.3 billion while underlying pre-tax profit rose by 1.6% to £701 million.
Sainsbury’s grew its grocery sales by 9.4% as it benefited from its focus on improving its food offering with investment in value, innovation, availability and service.
Meanwhile, general merchandise sales increased by 1.2% despite poor summer weather in the second quarter.
Simon Roberts, chief executive of J Sainsbury, explained: “We said we’d put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s and that’s what we’ve done. Our food business is firing on all cylinders.
“We have the best combination of value and quality in the market and that’s winning us customers from all our key competitors, driving consistent volume market share growth as more customers choose us for their weekly shop and all their special occasions.”
Looking ahead, Sainsbury’s said it is confident of delivering strong profit growth in the new financial year as it continues to grow its grocery volumes. It expects to achieve a retail underlying operating profit of up to £ £1.06 billion compared to £966 million in the prior year.
Roberts added: “As we embark on our Next Level Sainsbury’s strategy, we’ll continue to make deliberate, balanced choices to support our customers, colleagues, communities and farmers.
“The business has real momentum and we’re excited by our goal of making good food joyful, accessible and affordable for everyone, every day.”
