The grocery retailer has posted a 2% decline in underlying pre-tax profit to £586m in the 52 weeks to March 7, with overall profit before tax rising 26% to £255m, as group sales edged down 0.1% to £32.4bn, down 0.6% on a like-for-like basis.

Sainsbury’s has said that since coronavirus took hold in the UK its grocery sales have risen significantly. Food sales rose 12% in the seven weeks to April 25 in comparison with a 2% rise in the nine weeks to March 7.

This represents an 8% uplift in total sales excluding fuel and offsets 53% and 22% declines across clothing and general merchandise sales in Sainsbury’s stores respectively.