J Sainsbury plc has posted its Preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 11 March 2017, showing a resilient food performance, and continued ongoing investment in food quality, price and innovation.
The firm saw total transactions increase by nearly 3% to 26 million per week. Groceries Online grew by over 8% and Convenience grew by over 6%.
Group sales (inc VAT) was up by 12.7% to £29,112m, mainly as a result of the Argos contribution. Underlying profit before tax stood at £581m - a dip of 1% in like-for-likes - which reflects investment in the customer offer and cost inflation, offset by cost savings of £130m, and a contribution from Argos of £77m.
The company has opened six supermarkets and 41 convenience stores in the year, bringing the totals to 605 and 806 respectively/
Sainsbury's is on track to deliver three-year £500m cost saving programme by the end of 2017/18, with a further £500m cost savings target over three years from 2018/19.
Mike Coupe, Group Chief Executive, said, “This has been a pivotal year and we have made significant progress delivering and accelerating our strategy. Sainsbury’s Group offers customers market-leading product choice, value and convenience, whenever and wherever they shop with us.
“Food is the core of our business and we are committed to helping customers live well for less. Our food business remains resilient in a challenging market and we continue to innovate in quality and to invest in price.
'We are also investing in growth areas of the business to meet the changing ways that customers shop. Sainsbury’s design-led General Merchandise and Clothing both outperformed the market and we saw strong growth in Sainsbury’s Groceries Online and Convenience channels.
“We are pleased with the progress made since we acquired Argos. We have opened 59 Argos Digital stores in Sainsbury’s supermarkets and they are performing well. We are therefore accelerating our plan to open a total of 250 Argos Digital stores in Sainsbury’s supermarkets and will deliver our £160 million EBITDA synergy target by March 2019, six months ahead of schedule.
“We continue to find ways to simplify our business and reduce costs. We benefit from a strong balance sheet and have reduced our net debt by £349 million to £1,477 million.
“The quality and range of our products, combined with our market-leading service, availability and channels set us apart from our competitors. Our values support our growth and our vision to be the most trusted retailer where people love to work and shop. I would like to thank our 195,000 colleagues across the Group for the difference they make to our customers every day.”