Sainsburys sees strong profit growth this year on food pivot

(Sharecast News) - UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's said it expected to grow profits by 5-10% this year after delivering better-than-expected earnings for 2023/24.

Underlying pre-tax profit for the year to March 2 rose 1.6% to £701m, beating Sainsbury's own guidance of £670-700m. It expects current-year underlying retail earnings of £1.01-1.06bn.

"We are confident of delivering strong profit growth in the year ahead. We expect to continue to grow grocery volumes ahead of the market, driving profit leverage," Sainsbury's said on Thursday.

"We said we'd put food back at the heart of Sainsbury's and that's what we've done. Our food business is firing on all cylinders," said chief executive Simon Roberts.

"We have the best combination of value and quality in the market and that's winning us customers from all our key competitors, driving consistent volume market share growth as more customers choose us for their weekly shop and all their special occasions."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com