Sainsbury’s first-half retail sales, excluding fuel, rose by 4.8% to £15.6bn. All business units were in positive territory, with the fastest growth coming from Grocery, up 5.3%.
Retail underlying operating profit remained broadly flat at £504mn, ahead of group expectations. The revenue uplift and ongoing cost-saving programme helped offset higher employment and regulatory costs.
Retail free cash flow fell by £115mn to £310mn. Net debt, including lease liabilities, fell by £0.1bn to £5.5bn.
Full-year retail operating profit guidance has been upgraded from £1bn to more than £1bn.
An interim dividend of 4.1p per share was announced, up 5.1%. A special dividend of 11p per share (totalling £250mn) will be paid on 19 December, and an additional £150mn of share buybacks were announced, to be completed by the end of its 2027 financial year.
The shares were broadly flat in early trading.
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J Sainsbury key facts
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