Sainsbury’s Q1 sales boosted by sunshine

Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) enjoyed a boost in sales for the first quarter, as a result of the warmer weather across the U.K.

The UK’s second largest supermarket saw like-for-like sales at older stores up by 2.3 percent in the 16 weeks to July 1, well ahead of the 0.3 percent it recorded previously.

The supermarket attributed the surge in performances to the warmer temperatures and its summer food ranges, alongside the launching of 430 new and improved products across the quarter.

Total sales for the supermarket were up 2.7 percent, with grocery sales up 3 percent, following the opening of one new supermarket and an additional 10 more convenience stores across the country.

Chief Executive Mike Coupe, commented that although the market remained “competitive”, Sainsbury’s remained commitment to ensuring to “manage cost price pressures closely”, as high inflationary levels continue to drive up prices for shoppers.

“We have delivered a strong performance, driven by our differentiated strategy, offering customers quality, value and choice across food, general merchandise, clothing and financial services,” Mr Coupe continued.

“Grocery sales are up 3 percent and transactions up 2 percent, with like-for-like transaction growth in all channels.

“Our produce category, where we know quality matters most to customers, performed particularly well, outperforming the market with volume growth of over 1 percent.”

This contrast the supermarket’s May results, which saw the retailer report a 8.2 percent dip in pre-tax profits for the year, its first since its acquisition of Argos and Habitat locations.

Earlier in June, Sainsbury’s share price ticked up amid speculation the supermarket is set to acquire Nisa convenience stores.

At the time, shares rose 2.5 percent following reports it had put forward a £130 million bid for Nisa, the convenience store chain, after initial interest from rival Co-operative.

Meanwhile, Tesco’s (LON:TSCO) proposed merger with wholesaler Booker foods (LON:BOK) is currently under investigation by the UK competition regulation authority, amid concerns that the deal with impact competition in local areas.

Sainbury’s shares are currently up 0.28 percent as of 8.20AM (GMT).

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