Across the 28 weeks ended 13th September 2025, Sainsbury’s sales (excluding fuel) were up 5.2%, with general merchandise and clothing sales up 3.3%. Argos sales were up 2.3%.
Retail underlying operating profit was £504m, ahead of expectations and in line with last year, "with strong trading and cost savings delivery enabling focused investments in value, customer service and quality and offsetting higher employment and regulatory costs and disruption from space reallocation activity." Statutory profit after tax was £165m (up from £76m YoY).
The group continues: "We are making good progress with the Argos transformation plan, with higher sales, market share growth and improved profitability, particularly against a second quarter last year where strategic clearance activity increased sales but diluted trading margins. Sales grew by 2.3%, supported by warm and dry summer weather in an otherwise subdued, competitive and deflationary market. We continue to strengthen our online offer, improving the digital customer journey and driving higher online traffic and basket size. We have a strong trading plan in place as we head into the important Black Friday and Christmas trading period."
Further regarding the Argos business, the retailer says it is "delivering more inspiring choices for customers through extending our ranges and forming deeper brand partnerships with key suppliers. We continue to grow our Supplier Direct Fulfilled offer, introducing more than 6,000 new products so far this year, including new premium brands such as Oura, and have recently enabled customers to choose to collect in-store.
"We are also trialling Argos Plus, a 12-month subscription for free delivery on all orders greater than £20.
"Having focused in recent years on relocating the Argos estate from standalone stores to stores and collection points inside Sainsbury’s, we are now focusing on optimising our 1,100 points of presence to provide the best customer journey at the same time as reducing cost to serve".
The group adds that it is on track to deliver £1b of cost savings over the three years of its Next Level plan, "with capital investments in high returning technology and infrastructure programmes and a strong pipeline of cross-functional savings activity driving structural cost reduction".
It says it has finished the commissioning and testing of its physical large-scale automation and new warehouse management system in Daventry, which will ultimately house both Argos and Sainsbury’s general merchandise products from 2026.
Simon Roberts, chief executive of J Sainsbury plc, says: “We started this year with one clear priority – to sustain the strong competitive position we have built over the last five years. We have delivered on this in the first half, with focused and effective investment to ease cost of living pressures, keeping price inflation behind the wider market and delivering our winning combination of great value, trusted quality and leading service. This has driven continued grocery volume growth ahead of the market for a fifth consecutive year and a profit performance ahead of our expectations.
"We planned for a strong summer and we really delivered, with leading product innovation and outstanding fresh food availability when demand was highest throughout the hot weather. At Argos we delivered a good seasonal performance, grew market share and improved profitability.
“Our offer has never been stronger. So while we expect the market to remain highly competitive, our momentum gives us real confidence as we head into Christmas and we have strengthened our profit guidance today."
In retail, the business now expects to deliver an underlying operating profit of more than £1b.
