Profits at Sainsbury’s roared back into the black after a year of losses, as the supermarket enjoyed the benefits of the pandemic that saw much of the high street shut for long periods. Bosses revealed pre-tax profits for the 12 months to March 5 hit £854 million, compared with a £164 million pre-tax loss a year earlier.
This was also a three-fold increase on pre-pandemic profits of £278 million. However the supermarket warned that profits would be dented in the coming year as it reduces prices to help customers with the cost-of-living crisis.
But before reducing prices, it said shareholders would enjoy a dividend bonanza, with payouts of 13.1p per share – a jump of 24% on a year ago. The company’s preferred profit measurement – underlying pre-tax profits, which strip out one-off costs – hit £730 million.
