Sainsbury's retail sales rise by 2.7%

J Sainsbury plc (SBRY.L) on Tuesday reported a 2.7% increase in total retail sales excluding fuel to £9.153 billion in the first quarter ended June 20, 2026, driven by growth in its grocery business.

Grocery sales rose 3.6% year-on-year to £7.603 billion, while Sainsbury's overall sales increased 3.1% to £8.041 billion. Sales in General Merchandise and Clothing fell 3.7% to £438 million. Sales of the in-house clothing brand Tu Clothing fell by 2.1 per cent.

Like-for-like sales excluding fuel increased 2.1% during the quarter.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects to continue outperforming the grocery market and maintained its full-year guidance. J Sainsbury continues to expect total underlying operating profit of between £975 million and £1.075 billion for the year. (dpa/FashionUnited)