Pre-tax profits at Sainsbury’s have fallen in the last financial year despite growth in sales.
Announcing the retailer’s results for the 52 weeks to 16 March 2013, chief executive Justin King admitted the economic climate was “challenging”.
Pre-tax profits were down 1.4 per cent to £788 million (€935m) from £799m last year while sales rose 4.6 per cent to £25.6bn.
Other highlights were that the UK’s number three retailer behind Tesco and Asda outperformed the market, increasing market share to 16.8 per cent, the highest for a decade, according to Kantar Worldpanel data for the 12-month period. This was driven by 33 consecutive quarters of like-for-like sales growth.
King said: 'Our clear and proven long-term strategy continues to drive good sales and profit growth.'
Sainsbury’s also announced that it is buying the remaining 50 per cent share of Sainsbury’s Bank from the Lloyds Banking Group for £248m.
