Britain’s J Sainsbury Plc, owner of one of the country’s largest supermarket chains, increased sales excluding fuel and VAT by 4.9% year-on-year to 8.922 billion pounds ($12.27 billion) in its fiscal first quarter (ended 21 June), according to reports.
Comparable sales in the UK rose 4.7 per cent. Analysts on average had anticipated a 3.4 per cent rise, according to a consensus forecast prepared by Citi.
Sainsbury’s share of the country’s grocery market topped 15%, the highest in almost a decade.
The retailer reiterated its forecast for the current financial year ending March 2026, which will see underlying operating profit of around £1bn, up from £1.04bn a year earlier.
Sainsbury’s share price is up 1.6 per cent during trading on Tuesday. The company’s market value has increased by almost 28% (to £6.6bn) over the past three months, while the FTSE 100 stock index has added 1.7%.