A strong final quarter has helped Sainsbury’s to report a rise in like-for-like sales of 4.5% for the past 12 months, the supermarket announced today.

Like-for-like sales rose by 6.2% in the 11 weeks to 21 March, or by 7% taking into account the change in VAT earlier this year.

Sales of the retailer’s Basics range grew by almost two-thirds (60%) over the past year following the introduction of the ‘Switch and Save’ campaign. Online sales grew by more than 20% in the fourth quarter, while non-food sales “continued to grow strongly”.

Chief executive Justin King said the performance demonstrated “the strength and resilience of the Sainsbury’s brand”.

“Our work on providing universal customer appeal through continued investment in price, quality and a broader product range has been well received and is evident in the sales announced today,” King said.

“We are serving more customers with more items as both transactions and basket size have increased year-on-year. We have also maintained our high performance levels in key customer metrics, such as product availability and service.”

He added: “We expect the current economic environment to remain challenging but our focus on delivering universal appeal through great products at fair prices means we are well positioned to continue our good progress.”

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