Sainsbury's has reported an increase in underlying profit before tax of 13.3 per cent for the first half of the financial year ended 4 October 2008, up to £272m (€333.6m).

The 2-week period also marked the fifteenth consecutive quarter that the group has achieved like-for-like sales growth, up 3.9 per cent, with total sales rising 7.6 per cent to hit £10.7bn (€13.2bn).

'We have delivered a good performance during the first half of the year. Our results are testament to the considerable progress made over the past four years as part of the Making Sainsbury's Great Again recovery plan,' said chairman Philip Hampton. 'Sainsbury's is now a more robust business, with a strong financial position and capable of responding successfully to the current challenging economic conditions.'

Justin King, chief executive office at Sainsbury's, said that both the quality of the group's products and its competitive pricing strategy had been 'fundamental' to sustained growth, along with an improvement in the range of its own-brand products.

'With around 18m customers a week we work hard to listen and respond to their needs, and this has been particularly relevant during the first half of the year as shopping patterns have changed significantly in a relatively short space of time,' Mr King noted. 'Customers are now buying a different mix of products and we have successfully developed our offer to help offset the rising cost of living and tighter household budgets.

'Progress in the last four years has made Sainsbury's a more robust business with a wider customer base and universal appeal,' he added. 'While we expect the economic environment during the second half to remain particularly challenging, we are developing our offer to continue to meet the needs of customers and maintain our good progress.'

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