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Sainsbury's lifts guidance on stronger retail sales in H1; lines up special dividend
StockMarketWire.com
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Supermarket chain Sainsbury's resumed its interim dividend and declared a special dividend in lieu of a final dividend, after forecasting annual pre-tax profit to be at least 5% higher than last year, reflecting stronger than expected sales, particularly at Argos.
The company declared an interim dividend of 3.2p plus a special dividend of 7.3p.
The company also detailed plans to slash 3,500 jobs amid efforts to rein in costs.
The supermarket also reported retail sales were up 7.1% in the first half of the year, driven by growth in digital and online grocery sales, according to its interim results.
Digital sales accounted for almost 40% of all sales, online groceries was up 102%, while fuel sales plunged 44.6%. The supermarket posted a loss before tax of £137 million, reflecting £438 million of one-off costs associated with Argos store closures and other strategic and market changes.
Sainsbury's spent around £290 million to protect customers and colleagues from COVID-19, partially offset by £230 million business rates relief.
The company expects its current assumptions would result in full-year group underlying profit before tax increasing by at least 5% year on year.
Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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