Sainsbury's going to invest more after Asda's death agreement

LONDON (Reuters) – Sainsbury's, opposed by blocking its buyout of rival supermarket group Asda, said it would speed up investments in its store park and its technology, trying to remedy the lowering of the underlying.

Sainsbury's announced Wednesday that it would invest in improving more than 400 of its supermarkets this year, would reduce net debt by at least £ 600 million over the next three years. and maintain its dividend policy.

"I am confident in our strategy and I also know what we need to do to continue to evolve the business in a highly competitive marketplace where buying habits continue to change," said Mike, Chief Executive Officer. Chopped off.

Sainsbury's like-for-like sales at March 9 declined 0.9% after falling 1.1% over the Christmas period. They fell 0.2% over the entire 2018-2019.

The underlying pretax income for the year however increased by 7.8% to 635 million pounds, better than expected, thanks to the synergies generated by the Argos merchandise business acquired in 2016, and the total dividend rose 7.8% to 11.0 pence.

"The retail markets are very competitive and very promotional and the consumer outlook remains uncertain," Sainsbury said.

"However, we are well positioned to navigate the external environment and remain focused on implementing our strategy."

(Report by James Davey, edited by Kate Holton)