Retail operating profit for the year was £1.036 billion, up 7.2% from £966 million the year prior, while group revenue increased by 1.8% year-on-year to reach £32.8 billion.
This translated to underlying pre-tax profits of £761 million and basic earnings per share of 10.4p.
In its outlook for 2025/26, the retailer said it expects to deliver underlying operating profit of around £1 billion, alongside continue grocery volume growth ahead of the market.
Reflecting on the results, Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said that the retailer had successfully transformed its business over the past four years and had created a “winning combination” of value, quality and customer service following a £1 billion investment in pricing.
“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,” Roberts added.
“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.”
Roberts also touched on the progress of the Sainsbury’s ‘Aldi Price Match’ scheme and its Nectar loyalty programme.
“Our customer offer is the strongest it has ever been,” he said.
“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.”
Roberts also touched on the retailer’s continued investment in its employees. Sainsbury’s announced earlier this year that it was raising the hourly pay for staff at stores outside of London from £12 to £12.45 in March, and then to £12.60 in August.
However, this was accompanied by a proposal to cut 3,000 jobs, as well as plans for the closure of all remaining patisserie, hot food and pizza counters and Sainsbury’s Cafés.
The move was criticised at the time by Unite the Union, which said that low paid workers were “paying the price for corporate greed”.
“Unite will be fighting for our members’ jobs during any consultation process and helping them through this difficult time,” national officer for food at Unite, Paul Travers, said at the time.
Tesco also reported increased profits during 2024/25, with adjusted operating profit for the 12-month period ending 22 February reaching £3.1 billion.
