24/10/2001

Sainsbury continues market turnaround

UK supermarket giant J Sainsbury has revealed further signs of a turnaround after the company revealed it had achieved a sales growth of six per cent between July and mid-October.

As well as trade from new stores, sales also grew by 7.6 per cent between July and mid-October. These latest figures represent the third quarter in a row of sales growth.

While these latest convalescing figures have been credited mainly to Chief Executive Sir Peter Davis, who was recently given the challenge of improving the company’s dwindling fortunes, City experts are keen to see whether he has managed to turn increased sales into profits, when it reveals next month’s half-year results.

The retailer in May revealed its second consecutive year of falling profits, while claiming a marked improvement in performance towards the end of the period. (MB)

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