Sainsbury’s like-for-like sales slid 1.6% and underlying profits fell by 18% to £308 million in the first half of the financial year.
Profits were well above market expectations despite the challenges faced by the major supermarkets.
Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe said the supermarket’s cost savings programme was ahead of plan. He now expects savings of around £225m by the end of this financial year.
“The grocery retail marketplace remains challenging but Sainsbury’s is a great business, run by an experienced management team, supported by talented colleagues and strong values,” he said.
“We are making good progress against the strategy we outlined last November. We are delivering volume and transaction growth as customers value our quality improvements and our clearer, simpler message of lower regular prices.”
To complement its core food offer, it was delivering on its strategy to expand the non-food businesses in clothing, general merchandise and with Sainsbury’s Bank.
“Our strategy of investing to ensure customers can shop with us across multiple channels remains a strategic advantage,” he added.
The figures will be seen as resilient compared to other supermarket giants countering the challenge from discounters. Over the summer, Asda revealed its worst quarterly sales figures in more than 50 years, while Morrisons’ like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell by 2.6% in the 13 weeks to November.