Grocery giant Sainsbury’s has reported a rise in profits and sales for the full year as it posted its highest market share growth for more than a decade despite forecasting flat profits for the year ahead.
Sainsbury’s reported underlying profit before tax of £761m for the 52 weeks to March 1, 2025, up 8.6% year on year from £701m last year, while underlying retail operating profit was also up 7.2% to £1.04bn.
Full-year sales excluding fuel were up 4.2% year on year to reach £26.6bn, while grocery sales also rose 4.5% as the grocer saw its highest market share gains in more than a decade.
Sales at Argos for the full year fell 2.7% to £4.9bn following a “slow start” to the year and a “significant reduction” in online traffic.
Sainsbury’s hailed its “exceptional progress and investment” to date following a focus on value—something it says has put the business in a “strong competitive position”.
Sainsbury’s said it wants to “sustain” this and has forecast lower profitability in the year ahead with retail underlying operating profit expected to flatten at around £1bn.
This follows Tesco boss Ken Murphy’s warning last week that there has been an “increase in the competitive intensity of the UK market” which would as a result impact profits in the year ahead.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said: “We’ve transformed our business over the past four years. We have created a winning combination of value, quality and service that customers love, investing £1bn in lowering our prices. More people are choosing Sainsbury’s for their main grocery shop as a result, delivering our highest market share gains in more than a decade.
“We are committed, above all else, to sustaining the strong competitive position we have built—consistently giving customers the great value they have come to expect from Sainsbury’s, and we expect to continue to outperform the market.
“Our customer offer is the strongest it has ever been. We’ve expanded Aldi price match to more products than ever before in addition to offers on more than 9,000 products with Nectar prices. Customer satisfaction with product availability is at record levels and we’re continuing to add more new, innovative products to our ranges.
“Nectar is taking our ability to create personalised value and loyalty to the next level and our long-term contracts with farmers and suppliers demonstrate our commitment to resilience and sustainability across the UK food system.
“Our belief in the strength of Sainsbury’s offer has driven our decision to make our largest investment in expanding our store space in over a decade as we open supermarkets in key new locations, and extend food space within many of our existing stores. It’s also why we continue to invest in our colleagues, whose dedication will power our Next Level plan. Working together with our suppliers, we will continue to deliver for our customers, our shareholders and the communities we serve.”
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