Sainsbury's see sales growth

Sainsbury's has reported a slight rise in half-year profits.

The group announced  that it made £118 million in the six months to October 8, a small increase from the £117m it reported  at the same time last year.

Like-for-like sales, excluding petrol, were 2.1% higher, said chief executive Justin King, who added that his plans to transform the chain’s fortunes are on the right track.

He said: "We were clear last year that we needed to fix the basics of our offer for customers and we have made good steps forward.

"While the customer experience is much improved we still need to work on achieving consistency across all of our stores, and at an acceptable cost."