11 January 2023
If you are covering results from Sainsbury’s, please find below a comment from Chris Beckett, head of equity research at Quilter Cheviot:
“Sainsbury’s today produced a strong trading update with Christmas and Q3 sales ahead of market expectations. Sainsbury’s has executed its Christmas period very well and has had the additional benefit of the World Cup adding to sales.
“The business did see a small decline in sales volume in groceries, so this indicates that the overall growth being seen is coming from higher prices. But within this we are seeing evidence of consumer bifurcation, with the cost of living squeeze not being felt equally. Sainsbury’s had good sales on its premium ranges, along with strong own brand sales on entry point products.
“Sainsbury’s is benefiting from the elevated inflation in the market just now with profit expected to be at top end of previous range. It has managed to pass price rises on to the end consumer. However, much of this good news is already baked into the share price and we think Tesco continues to have better scale. We will find out tomorrow if it has had an equally as successful period.”
