Sainsbury’s profits more than doubled to £730 million in its latest financial year.

This represents a 25 per cent increase compared to 2019/20 and a 104 per cent hike versus 2020/21.

The company said that the profit growth reflects higher grocery sales and lower finance charges, with “significant investment in core grocery funded by cost savings, fuel and a more profitable general merchandise and clothing business”.

But the supermarket retailer predicts that underlying pre-tax profits will be between £630 million and £690 million this year.

Sainsbury’s said that in 2021, it benefited from an estimated £100 million from “elevated Covid-19 driven grocery volumes”.

Sainsbury’s boss Simon Roberts said that the retailer has been able to drive more investment into lowering food prices amid the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis with its cost savings plans.

“As a result, we continue to inflate behind competitors on the products customers buy most often. Last week we announced the next bold phase of investment, lowering prices across 150 of our highest volume fresh products,” said Roberts, chief executive of J Sainsbury. “As our colleagues are feeling the impact of inflation too we prioritised investment of over £100 million into colleague pay.

“All Sainsbury's and Argos retail colleagues now earn the Living Wage wherever they work in the UK, we were the first major supermarket to make this happen.”

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