For the 16 weeks to January 3, J Sainsbury plc delivered year-on-year group sales growth of 3.5%, with like-for-like sales excluding fuel up 2.8%. Sales in the core grocery division rose 3.9%, driven by a 4.1% increase during the Christmas trading period. CEO Simon Roberts described this as the best Christmas execution in his nine years at the company, citing seamless supply-chain coordination and promotional effectiveness that boosted festive meal occasions and convenience channel growth.

Following the strong trading performance, Sainsbury’s raised its full-year free-cash-flow outlook by £150 million to £1.35 billion, reflecting improved working-capital management and disciplined capital expenditure. The group also reaffirmed its retail underlying operating profit guidance of £1.25 billion to £1.30 billion, underpinned by continued price investment and efficiency gains across its store estate and e-commerce operations.