This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36200773
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Sainsbury's hit by falling food prices | Sainsbury's hit by falling food prices |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Sainsbury's has reported a fall in annual profits as declining food prices continue to hurt the supermarket chain. | Sainsbury's has reported a fall in annual profits as declining food prices continue to hurt the supermarket chain. |
| Underlying profits, which strip out one-off charges, fell to £587m for the year to 12 March. That was down from £681m in the previous year. | Underlying profits, which strip out one-off charges, fell to £587m for the year to 12 March. That was down from £681m in the previous year. |
| Pre-tax profits for the year were £548m, reversing last year's £72m loss. That result was hit by charges related to the falling value of its properties. | Pre-tax profits for the year were £548m, reversing last year's £72m loss. That result was hit by charges related to the falling value of its properties. |
| In April, Sainsbury's agreed to buy Argos-owner Home Retail Group. | In April, Sainsbury's agreed to buy Argos-owner Home Retail Group. |
| Chief executive Mike Coupe told the BBC's Today Programme that the deal would allow customers to choose from more than 50,000 products and collect them in 2,000 outlets within four hours, which he described a "pretty compelling". | |
| 'Fiercely competitive' | |
| Sainsbury's, like other supermarkets, has been suffering from the tough price competition in the grocery market, and Mr Coupe said the market was unlikely to change anytime soon. | |
| "Prices are actually 4% lower, would you believe, than two years ago and that's a reflection of the fact that the market is fiercely competitive - and it will remain so for the foreseeable future." | |
| The company has proposed a full-year dividend of 12.1p per share, which would be down 8.3% on last year's payout. |