UK-based supermarket chain Sainsbury’s saw stronger third-quarter grocery sales, totaling £10.02bn ($13.43bn) excluding fuel, up 3.9% year-on-year. Total retail sales, including fuel, reached £11.12bn, with grocery sales up 5.4% but general merchandise and Argos down 1.1%. Online grocery sales rose 14%, with a 1% drop in Argos sales. Fresh food sales increased 8%, with Taste the Difference fresh food sales up 15%. Tu clothing brand recorded volume growth ahead of the wider market. Habitat saw a 6% sales increase and Chad Valley range delivered 7% growth.

Over the six-week Christmas trading period, total retail sales excluding fuel increased 3.3%, supported by a 5.1% rise in grocery sales. Sainsbury’s expects retail underlying operating profit of over £1bn for the 2025/2026 financial year. CEO Simon Roberts highlighted market share gains and plans to invest in competitive positioning. The company remains on track to achieve £1bn in cost savings by March 2027 and raised guidance for retail free cash flow to over £550m. Sainsbury’s plans to return over £800m to shareholders this year through dividends and share buybacks.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Sainsbury’s grocery growth offsets weaker merchandise and Argos sales in Q3