Sainsbury's pre-tax profits dip 1.4% to £788m while sales rise 4.3%

The grocer will also take the remaining 50% shareholding of Sainsbury’s Bank from Lloyds Banking Group for £248m.

Underlying pre-tax profit is up 6.2% to £756m and like-for-like sales including VAT and excluding petrol were up 1.8%.

The pre-tax profit fall came as the sale of property fell from £83m to £66m, and the retailer wrote down the value of ite remaining property assets by £10m.

Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King said: “Our focus on helping our customers Live Well For Less is delivering good growth in sales and profit. Our key points of difference, such as the best quality own brand, Nectar, Brand Match, coupon-at-till and industry leading service, are recognised by our customers.

He said the decision to take full ownership of Sainsbury’s Bank will “add further momentum to our strategy of developing complementary channels for the benefit of both customers and shareholders”.

He added: “Whilst we see no near term change in the current economic situation, we remain confident that by continuing to invest in our long-standing strategy and by understanding and helping our customers, we are well positioned for future growth.”

Sainsbury’s said it has outperformed the market in the year, increasing market share to 16.8%, the highest for a decade, driven by 33 consecutive quarters of like-for-like sales growth.

Its annual grocery online sales are almost £1bn and convenience store sales are now over £1.5bn.

In the year, Sainsbury’s opened one million sq ft of gross new space, adding 14 supermarkets, eight extensions and 87 convenience stores.