UK's Sainsbury's reports Christmas sales rise and sticks to profit outlook

J Sainsbury

09/01/2026 07:04

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Sainsbury's SBRY.L, Britain's second-largest supermarket group, on Friday reported a 3.4% rise in underlying sales for the key Christmas quarter with strong grocery sales offset by a weaker performance in general merchandise.

The group, which trails only Tesco TSCO.L by market share, said it still expected to deliver full-year retail underlying operating profit of "more than 1 billion pounds" ($1.34 billion) for its year to March 2026, versus 1.04 billion pounds made in 2024/25.

($1 = 0.7448 pounds)

WRAPUP 2-Britons splurge on food, cut back on gifts as retailers warn of tough 2026 nL1N3Y90BV

UPDATE 1-Ocado and Lidl lead Christmas sales growth, Tesco solid, says Worldpanel nL8N3Y70BD

 (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Sarah Young)

 ((james.davey@thomsonreuters.com))