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Sainsbury's said its results showed the firm was continuing to perform well
Sainsbury's has reported an increase in half-year sales, saying it is continuing to perform strongly despite "challenging" trading conditions.
For the six months to 2 October, its like-for-like sales excluding fuel - which strips out the impact of new store openings - increased by 2%.
For the most recent three months, its sales under the same measure rose 2.9%.
The trading update comes a day after Tesco said its half-year, like-for-like non-petrol UK sales rose by 1.2%.
Sainsbury's said its smaller convenience stores had continued to perform well, and were now achieving annual sales of £1bn.
It added that its online sales were also still rising strongly.
The supermarket group is also continuing to add new stores, while extending a number of its existing outlets.
Chief executive Justin King said Sainsbury's had delivered "another strong performance".
Sainsbury's total sales were up 7% for the half-year, and by 6.6% for the second quarter.
Tesco's total sales for its half-year added 8.3%.
Tesco also reported a 12.5% increase in six-month pre-tax profits. Sainsbury's has not released any profit figures in its latest trading update.
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Sainsbury's said its results showed the firm was continuing to perform well Sainsbury's has reported an increase in half-year sales, saying it is continuing to perform strongly despite "challenging" trading conditions.
For the six months to 2 October, its like-for-like sales excluding fuel - which strips out the impact of new store openings - increased by 2%.
For the most recent three months, its sales under the same measure rose 2.9%.
The trading update comes a day after Tesco said its half-year, like-for-like non-petrol UK sales rose by 1.2%.
Sainsbury's said its smaller convenience stores had continued to perform well, and were now achieving annual sales of £1bn.
It added that its online sales were also still rising strongly.
The supermarket group is also continuing to add new stores, while extending a number of its existing outlets.
Chief executive Justin King said Sainsbury's had delivered "another strong performance".
Sainsbury's total sales were up 7% for the half-year, and by 6.6% for the second quarter.
Tesco's total sales for its half-year added 8.3%.
Tesco also reported a 12.5% increase in six-month pre-tax profits. Sainsbury's has not released any profit figures in its latest trading update.
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

