Shares
in
Sainsbury’s
(SBRY)
fell
4.7%
to
290.80p
this
morning
on
a
largely-positive
trading
update
that
nevertheless
failed
to
impress
investors.
The
London-based
supermarket
chain
said
grocery
sales
rose
9.3%
year-on-year
in
the
16
weeks
to
January
6,
with
Christmas
grocery
sales
in
the
six
weeks
to
the
same
date
climbing
8.6%.
General
merchandise
sales
fell
0.6%
in
the
recent
16
weeks,
which
coincided
with
Sainbury’s
financial
third
quarter,
but
rose
1.5%
when
excluding
the
hit
from
Argos’s
closure
in
Ireland.
Total
retail
sales
excluding
fuel
grew
6.5%
annually
in
the
full
16-week
period,
and
4.9%
in
the
6-week
Christmas
period.
For
the
financial
year
ending
March
2,
Sainsbury’s
reiterated
annual
guidance
for
underlying
pre-tax
profit
between
£670
and
£700
million,
compared
to
£690
million
in
financial
2023.
Further,
Sainsbury’s
expects
to
generate
retail
free
cash
flow
of
at
least
£600
million
in
financial
2024,
compared
to
£645
million
in
financial
2023.
“We’ve
worked
hard
to
really
deliver
for
our
customers
this
quarter
and
have
grown
grocery
volumes
ahead
of
the
market
for
the
fourth
Christmas
in
a
row,”
chief
executive
Simon
Roberts
said
in
a
statement.
“We
enter
2024
with
strong
momentum
and
next
month
we
will
share
our
updated
strategy,
building
on
all
we’ve
done
to
put
food
back
at
the
heart
of
Sainsbury’s
over
the
last
three
years.”
Sainsbury’s
will
release
its
financial
2024
results
on
April
25.
By
Tom
Budszus,
Alliance
News
slot
editor
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