SUPERMARKET chain Sainsbury's reported the first loss in its history yesterday and blamed the performance on the cost of the restructuring needed to revive its fortunes.
The troubled group posted losses of £39m in the six months to September 30, down from profits of £323m a year earlier.
Ignoring £168m of exceptional items, Sainsbury's achieved underlying profits of £131m, which was in line with the City's recently revised expectations.
The 135-year-old group achieved a 3.5 per cent rise in sales to £8.35bn, but the business review announced by chief executive Justin King last month cost the company £401m.
He wants to recruit 3,000 staff and get the retailer back to basics after sales slumped in the face of problems with product availability.
In total, the business review is expected to cost Sainsbury's £550m over the financial year.
Further exceptional items of £168m were included in yesterday's figures, relating in part to accounting charges.
The retailer was once the UK's biggest supermarket chain, but has since been overtaken by rivals Asda and Tesco.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article