Sainsburys Half-Year Report 2022
Simon Roberts, Chief Executive of J Sainsbury plc, said: “Two years ago we launched our plan to put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s. We committed to improve shareholder returns by creating a simpler business and reducing costs to invest in lower prices, food innovation and maintaining colleague and customer satisfaction. We have grown market share in both grocery and general merchandise and investment in our stores and colleagues is supporting leading supermarket customer satisfaction and availability. Profits are significantly higher than pre-Covid levels and we are generating strong cash flow, supporting debt reduction and dividend payments.
“We really get how tough it is for millions of households right now. Customers are watching every penny and every pound and we know that they are relying on us to keep food prices as low as we can. We will have invested more than £500 million by March 2023 in keeping prices lower by cutting our costs at a faster rate than our competitors’, meaning we have more firepower to battle inflation. Over the past year and a half we have consistently passed on less price inflation than our competitors and I am confident we have never been better value. Argos is also performing well in a market where customers are looking for reassurance that they are getting great value and availability.
Financial Highlights
- Grocery sales up 0.2 per cent in H1. Strong growth in Q2 of 3.8 per cent as lockdown comparatives eased, market price inflation accelerated, customers responded well to the strength of our offer and we benefited from warm weather. Grocery sales were 9.3 per cent higher than H1 19/20 General merchandise sales down 6.1 per cent across H1 but up 1.2 per cent in Q2, driven by improved availability, favourable summer weather and strong market share gains. Growth was driven by categories such as consumer electronics and seasonal products
- Statutory Group sales (excluding VAT) up 4.4 per cent, with fuel sales up 39.5 per cent. Like-for-like sales (excluding fuel) down 0.8 per cent, with Q2 up 3.7 per cent after a decline of 4.0 per cent in Q1
- Retail operating profit down 9 per cent, reflecting our investment in value, reduced grocery and general merchandise volumes post-pandemic and higher operating costs, partially offset by a higher fuel contribution
