Sainsbury’s raises FY22 guidance amid rising sales

Sainsbury’s has raised its full-year guidance for the financial year ended March 2022, with its underlying profit-before-tax now expected to be at least £660m, up from the previously forecasted £620m, with progress weighted towards the first half.

The news follows the supermarket chain’s Q1 trading statement for the 16 weeks to 26 June 2021, which reported a like-for-like sales increase of 1.6%.

Grocery sales benefited from higher in-home consumption due to continued Covid-19 restrictions, rising 0.8% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the supermarket’s online sales continued to grow by 29% year-on-year, and by 142% compared with 2019.

Simon Roberts, chief executive, Sainsbury, said: “Our colleagues are doing a brilliant job of giving great customer service and continuing to adapt as restrictions ease and shopping habits change.

“Over the coming months we expect to see customer shopping patterns normalise further and we are well set up to serve them however they want to shop. We are focused on offering our customers even better value and regularly creating new and exciting products for them to try.”

He added: “Our recent launch of Helping Everyone Eat Better will help customers find great tasting food that is good for them and also good for the planet, an important step on our journey to reduce our impact on the environment.”