Britain’s J Sainsbury Plc, owner of one of the country’s largest supermarket chains, increased sales excluding fuel and VAT by 4.8% year-on-year to 15.577 billion pounds ($20.4 billion) in the first fiscal (ended 13 September), according to reports.
Comparable sales rose 4.5 per cent.
Sainsbury’s underlying operating profit for the period is 504 million pounds compared to 503 million pounds a year ago. Analysts, whose consensus forecast cited by the company itself, had estimated the figure at £493m.
The retailer has adjusted its forecast for the current financial year, which ends in March 2026, and now expects its underlying operating profit to exceed £1bn (previous forecast was around £1bn).
Sainsbury’s share price is up 1.1 per cent during trading on Thursday. The market value of the company over the past three months increased by 16.1% (to 7.6 billion pounds), while the stock index FTSE 100 added 7.3%.