Sainsbury's chief executive Sir Peter Davis has expressed his dissatisfaction with the supermarket group's sales growth, which last quarter fell below city forecasts.

The supermarket's annual meeting heard first-quarter like-for-like sales had risen by 0.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to June 21, far below analysts forecasts of 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

Total sales were up two per cent in the period while the US business, Shaw's, saw like-for-like growth of 0.8 per cent and a total sales rise of 1.1 per cent.

The figures contrast with Tesco's first-quarter sales results released last month, which showed a like-for-like growth of 5.8 per cent.

Sir Peter is disappointed with the performance. He said: 'I am not satisfied by our sales performance during the last two quarters. There is no doubt that, while implementing significant change in-store and with the supply chain, there has been some disruption to the execution of our customer offer.' However he was quick to defend the group's prospects. 'We have given a clear indication that we see the second half of this year growing a bit more. This is the year of delivery for us. After two years of a three-year recovery programme, we know that we are making progress,' he said.

The board also fielded criticism from environmental groups that claimed its cut-price marketing of bananas was hitting already poor economies in the Caribbean. Sainsbury's insisted it had not cut its payments to growers.

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