Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Supermarket chain Sainsbury's on Wednesday said its investment in value, new products and service drove volume market share gains, trading ahead of the overall UK market through its financial third quarter and the key Christmas period.
For the 16 weeks to January 8, total retail sales - excluding fuel - was down 5.3% following 6.8% growth in third quarter of financial 2021.
Last week, market research firm Kantar, in its latest UK grocery market survey, had said Sainsbury's suffered a 4.4% annual decline in sales to GBP4.97 billion in the 12 weeks that ended December 26. The overall market was down 3.0% from a year before in the same period, Kantar said.
However, Sainsbury's on Wednesday noted that Groceries Online sales grew by 92% versus two years ago, with weekly orders increasing again in recent weeks to over 700,000 per week. Orders in Christmas week were up 41% year-on-year.
Looking ahead, Sainsbury said it is raising annual profit guidance, reflecting strong grocery sales, cost savings delivery and improved Bank outlook.
For the financial year that ends in March, it expects to report underlying pretax profit of at least GBP720 million, having posted underlying pretax profit of GBP356 million in financial 2021.
Chief Executive Officer Simon Roberts said: "I am really pleased with how we delivered for customers this Christmas. More people ate at home and our significant investment in value, innovation and service led to market share growth."
Last week, Kantar said Sainsbury's market share faded to 15.7% from 15.9% a year before in the slightly different trading period that its survey covered.
"December's trading was particularly strong for UK supermarkets, with home working translating into home eating and fewer consumers dining out as Omicron swept the country," commented Ross Hindle, an analyst at research firm Third Bridge.
"There is now plenty of evidence to suggest the UK’s grocery renaissance is here to stay. Sainsbury’s should be able to hold on to its gains thanks to its loyal customer base and innovation around product lines."
Sainsbury shares were up 1.8% early Wednesday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: up 0.5% at 7,530.42
----------
Hang Seng: up 2.7% at 24,372.33
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.9% at 28,765.66
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.7% at 7,438.90
----------
DJIA: closed up 183.15 points, 0.5%, at 36,252.02
S&P 500: closed up 0.9% at 4,713.07
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 1.4% at 15,153.45
----------
EUR: flat at USD1.1361 (USD1.1363)
GBP: firm at USD1.3630 (USD1.3617)
USD: flat at JPY115.35 (JPY115.37)
Gold: up at USD1,818.30 per ounce (USD1,816.01)
Oil (Brent): firm at USD83.70 a barrel (USD83.44)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Wednesday's key economic events still to come
Germany balance of payments
1100 CET EU industrial production
1100 GMT Ireland unemployment
0830 EST US consumer price index
1030 EST US EIA weekly petroleum status report
----------
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to face members of Parliament amid furious demands to come clean over his attendance at a reported "bring your own booze" party in the No 10 garden in breach of Covid lockdown rules. Johnson will make his first public appearance since the leak on Monday of an email from his principal private secretary Martin Reynolds inviting Downing Street staff to the gathering in May 2020. The disclosure triggered a new wave of public anger following the reports last year of parties in the run up to Christmas 2020, with Tory MPs openly warning Johnson his position will be untenable if he has been shown to have lied. Downing Street has refused to say if he was present at the May event, despite reports he and his fiancee - now wife - Carrie Symonds, were among around 30 people to attend at a time when such gatherings were banned.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
HSBC CUTS FERGUSON TO 'HOLD' ('BUY')
----------
JPMORGAN CUTS JUPITER FUND MANAGEMENT TO 'NEUTRAL' (OVERWEIGHT) - PRICE TARGET 290 (345) PENCE
----------
BERENBERG CUTS FD TECHNOLOGIES TO 'SELL' (HOLD) - PRICE TARGET 1,600 (2,200) PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
JD Sports Fashion said it delivered an "extremely robust" performance against a backdrop of disruption of the supply chain operations of some of its key brand partners. The sports and outdoor clothing retailer said total revenue for the 22 week period that ended January 1 in its like-for-like businesses was more than 10% ahead of the same period in 2020 with an equally positive performance across the Black Friday and Christmas period. Gross margins for the second half were in line with the prior year. JD Sports said that due to strong consumer demand, it was confident pretax profit for the year to January 29 will be ahead of market forecasts. It expects headline pretax profit of at least GBP875 million. It posted pretax profit of GBP324.0 million in financial 2021. JD Sports said it issue its annual results on April 12.
----------
Swiss Re sold 66.2 million shares in Phoenix Group at 664 pence each, raising GBP440 million. Following the placing run by Merrill Lynch, which was first announced late Tuesday, Swiss Re has fully exited its holding in Phoenix Group, an insurance company.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Homewares retailer Dunelm reported GBP407 million in total sales in the 13 weeks that ended December 25, its financial second quarter. This was up 13% on a year ago and up 26% on two years ago. Digital sales represented 33% of this total, down from 41% a year ago, though up from 21% two years ago. Dunelm said gross margin increased by 160 basis during the second quarter and 80 points during the first half, ahead of its expectations, amid higher full-price sales of seasonal ranges. Gross margin for the full year is now seen down 30 to 50 basis points from financial 2021, which is better than expected. Dunelm said it expects first half pretax profit of GBP140 million, up from GBP112 million a year ago and GBP84 million two years before.
----------
The chief executive of British Gas-owner Centrica has advised UK consumers the energy crisis may last for two years. Speaking to the BBC, Chris O'Shea said "the market suggests" high gas prices will continue "for the next 18 months to two years". He said the high demand for gas was partly being driven by a move away from coal and oil. "As we move towards net zero, gas is a big transition fuel," O'Shea said. "And so as you turn off coal-fired power stations in other countries, there isn't an abundance of gas that you can just turn on quickly." But O'Shea also threw cold water on the idea of boosting supply from the North Sea as a domestic solution to the crisis.
----------
COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
Just Eat Takeaway.com revealed it is in discussions with several potential partners to strengthen its US market position, after reporting orders were up by a third for the fourth quarter. The food delivery firm processed 1.1 billion orders in 2021, representing a 33% increase compared with the previous year. The company processed EUR273.7 million orders in the fourth quarter, a 14% increase from EUR240.4 million in the same period of 2020. The UK & Ireland was the fastest growing division for both the quarter and the year, Just Eat noted, with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation significantly improving. Sales orders for the region in 2021 rose 52% year-on-year to EUR295.9 million while the gross transaction value increased 42% to EUR6.6 billion. The group said it will invest heavily, especially in its London network, while it expects to further improve profitability in 2022. Orders from North America for the year rose 19% to EUR373.9 million, with the value of orders up by 6% to EUR91.6 million.
----------
COMPANIES - GLOBAL
----------
Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners have joined forces to launch a bid for Walgreen Boots Alliance's UK retail pharmacy chain Boots, Sky News reported on Tuesday. Sky, citing sources, said the two are working on a plan to snap up Boots that is based on substantial investment in its digital, beauty and healthcare service offerings. A number of other private equity firms are expected to mull offers for Boots as part of a process run by Goldman Sachs. But while likely, Walgreen's decision to sell Boots is not guaranteed and spinning the chain off into a separately-listed firm is also a possibility, Sky said.
----------
Wednesday's shareholder meetings
AB Dynamics PLC - AGM
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
