- Sainsbury's has increased its annual earnings forecast, now expecting retail underlying operating profit to exceed £1 billion, following a better-than-anticipated half-year performance.
- The UK's second-largest grocer reported an underlying operating profit of £504 million for the 28 weeks to 13 September, a slight rise from the previous year and above its own projections.
- Pre-tax profits for the period lifted by 5 per cent to £271 million, with like-for-like sales across the group, excluding fuel, growing by 4.5 per cent over the first half.
- Food sales accelerated to 5.7 per cent growth in the second quarter, although sales growth for clothing and general merchandise halved to 2.1 per cent, and Argos sales growth significantly slowed to 0.1 per cent.
- The company is implementing £1 billion in cost reductions over the next three years, which has included closing in-store cafes and hot food counters, resulting in over 3,000 job losses.
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