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J Sainsbury PLC on Thursday reported a drop in annual profit, after its said it has spent £560 million on keeping prices low for customers amid the cost of living crisis. The London-based grocer reported that revenue in its financial year ended March 4 rose by 5.3% to £31.49 billion from £29.90 billion a year earlier. However, pretax profit plummeted by 62% to £327 million from £854 million. Sainsbury’s explained that is has spent over £560 million over the last two years to keep its prices low amid the cost of living crisis. This is £10 million more than the commitment first announced in December. ‘Customers want low prices, exciting new products and great customer service. This is where we are focusing our time, energy and investment and is why more customers are choosing to shop with us,’ the company added. Sainsbury’s announced a final dividend of 9.2 pence, down from 9.9p a year ago. This brings the full-year dividend to 13.1p, unchanged year-on-year. Looking ahead, the company expects to report underlying pretax profit between £640 million and £700 million in financial 2024. In financial 2023, underlying pretax profit came in at £690 million, down from £730 million a year earlier. Chief Executive Simon Roberts said: ‘We really get how tough life is for so many households right now which is why we are absolutely determined to battle inflation for our customers. Our focus on value has never been greater and we have spent over £560 million keeping our prices low over the last two years. As a result, we are now the best value compared to our competitors that we have been in many years and we are delivering improved market share performance in Sainsbury’s and Argos.’ Shares in Sainsbury were down 0.7% to 281.90 pence each in London on Thursday morning. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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