The retailer, which celebrates its 140th birthday this year, reported an underlying profit before sales up 11.3% from £488 in 2008, meaning its 120,000 employees can share a bonus pot of £60 million - up from last year's £43 million. This calculates as a bonus of £500 for each member of staff.
Justin King, chief executive of Sainsbury's, said: "Our business is growing because we have responded quickly and effectively to a rapidly changing environment.
"Fixing fundamental parts of our operation through our ‘Making Sainsbury's Great Again' recovery programme has placed the business in a strong position. Although consumer confidence in the UK has declined during the year, our performance improved as a result of the strength of the Sainsbury's brand and actions we have taken to adjust our offer to changing customer trends.
"Our universal customer appeal and continued investment in price and quality have been fundamental to our growth, catering for a range of changing customer needs and trends. Over the past 12 months consumers have become increasingly ‘savvy' and have responded to rises in the cost of living by making significant changes to the mix of products they buy. In an effort to manage their household budgets more tightly, people are eating out less and cooking at home more. They are shopping around to get the best prices and deals but also want the best quality they can afford and to stay true to their values.
"Our progress in the last four years has made the company a stronger business with a wide customer base and universal appeal. We are performing well and have significant opportunities for further growth. We expect the current economic environment to remain challenging but our focus on doing a great job for customers means we are well positioned to continue our good progress."
Sainsbury's staff to share a bonus pot of 60 million
Profits of 543 million for Sainsbury's mean employees share a bonus pot of 60 million.
