J Sainsbury PLC on Wednesday said it continued to outperform the wider UK grocery market over the festive period.

The London-based supermarket chain said grocery sales rose 9.3% year-on-year in the 16 weeks to January 6, with Christmas grocery sales in the 6 weeks to the same date climbing 8.6%.

General Merchandise sales fell 0.6% in the recent 16 weeks, which coincided with Sainbury’s financial third quarter, but rose 1.5% when excluding the hit from Argos’s closure in Ireland.

Total retail sales excluding fuel grew 6.5% annually in the full 16-week period, and 4.9% in the 6-week Christmas period.

For the financial year ending March 2, Sainsbury’s reiterated annual guidance for underlying pretax profit between £670 and £700 million, compared to £690 million in financial 2023.

Further, Sainsbury’s expects to generate retail free cash flow of at least £600 million in financial 2024, compared to £645 million in financial 2023.

‘We’ve worked hard to really deliver for our customers this quarter and have grown grocery volumes ahead of the market for the fourth Christmas in a row,’ said Chief Executive Simon Roberts.

Looking ahead, he said: ‘We enter 2024 with strong momentum and next month we will share our updated strategy, building on all we’ve done to put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s over the last three years.’

Sainsbury’s will release its financial 2024 results on April 25.

Sainsbury’s shares were down 4.7% to 290.80 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.

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