1 July 2025
If you are covering Sainsbury's latest results, please see the following comment from Lucy Rumbold, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
"The hot, sunny days enjoyed across the UK of late have been a key driver of Sainsbury’s latest results, which beat expectations. Its shares opened positively this morning, and provided a knock-on boost to other UK grocer shares too.
"Sainsbury’s like for like sales numbers came in ahead of consensus, buoyed by strong 5% growth in grocery sales, with a higher demand for its premium food ranges driven by the good weather. Its general merchandise and clothing also saw strong growth of 4.2% as shoppers bought up summer clothing to keep them cool in the warmer climes.
"With fans and paddling pools at the top of people’s shopping lists, Argos has fared well. It saw a 4.4% increase in its sales, a strong acceleration for an outlet which has experienced further store closures.
"Sainsbury’s management reiterated its guidance of retail adjusted profit of £1 billion, as well as at least £500 million of retail free cash flow, adding to the sense of operational confidence. The group remains on track to deliver £1 billion of cost savings, and with momentum clearly building, Sainsbury’s looks well-positioned heading into the summer."
