“The grocery retail marketplace remains challenging but Sainsbury’s is a great business, run by an experienced management team, supported by talented colleagues and strong values. I am confident we are making progress and we are looking forward to a successful Christmas, offering our customers fantastic products and great value.”
Sainsbury’s has reported a 17.9% drop in underlying pre-tax profits to £308m for the 28 weeks to 26 September this year.
Underlying Group sales were down 2.0 per cent to £13,641 million, while like-for-like sales declined by 1.6%.
However, the retailer says its strategy remains on track despite the competitive marketplace.
Chief executive Mike Coupe said: “We are making good progress against the strategy we outlined last November.”
“We continue to run the business efficiently and our cost savings programme is ahead of plan. We now expect savings of around £225 million by the end of this financial year and we are on track to deliver our target of £500 million cost savings over the next three years,” he continued.
“The grocery retail marketplace remains challenging but Sainsbury’s is a great business, run by an experienced management team, supported by talented colleagues and strong values. I am confident we are making progress and we are looking forward to a successful Christmas, offering our customers fantastic products and great value.”