Like-for-like sales for the 16 weeks to October 8 were up 2.8 per cent excluding petrol sales and 4.1 per cent including fuel.
The results were better than some analysts had expected, as Sainsbury's faced ferocious competition from the likes of Adsa and Tesco.
'Our plans for recovery are back on track,' said chief executive Justin King (pictured). 'However, consumer confidence has weakened and market conditions continue to be challenging.'
Numis retail analyst Steve Davis said: 'Sainsbury's has issued an encouraging trading update. This comes despite the slowdown elsewhere in the retail sector. It doesn't take a genius to work out that food retail is a better place to be than non-food in the current climate.'
However, Sainsbury's experienced problems at its banking arm, which is increasing customer numbers but suffering with bad debt provisions.
Fixing the basics of the Sainsbury's offer has been a priority for King, who described the latest spate of advertising as 'kick-starting a change in the way we work'.
Sainsbury's introduced the new strapline 'Try Something New Today' in the latest stage of its Making Sainsbury's Great Again recovery programme.
According to King, the latest campaign was the 'tip of the iceberg' in changes designed to encourage£2.5 billion sales growth by March 2008.
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