Analyst Views: What was your reaction to Sainsbury’s third quarter statement?
GRAHAM JONES | PANMURE GORDON
A very difficult October and November was made up by strong Christmas trading..we continue to view Sainsbury’s as the best placed of the UK food retailers, but our caution on the short-term sector outlook holds us back from having a more positive recommendation on the stock.
JAMES GRZINIC | JEFFERIES
Kantar data implied Sainsbury’s like-for-like declines of one per cent in October and November. Given this backdrop, the 0.2 per cent reported suggests a big step up in performance in the most recent weeks. Still, 0.2 per cent is sharply down from two per cent in the second quarter.
DAVE MCCARTHY | HSBC
The slowdown in third quarter sales compared with the second quarter was marked but had much to do with an industry slowdown. Like-for-like growth of 0.2 per cent is likely to be better than Tesco’s and Morrison’s, but is some way behind the best in class.