Sainsbury's lifts profit guidance after bumper first half

(Sharecast News) - UK retailer Sainsbury's on Thursday lifted full-year profit guidance and increased shareholder payouts after interim earnings and sales beat expectations. The company said it now expected annual retail underlying operating profit of more than £1bn compared with prior guidance of around £1bn. It also unveiled plans to add an extra £150m from the sale of its banking unit to share buybacks this year and in 2026/27.

The supermarket chain delivered a 0.2% rise in retail underlying profit to £504m for the 28 weeks to September 13. Retail sales, excluding VAT sales tax and fuel, rose 4.8% to £15.6bn.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com