Sainsbury 's has posted a nearly 20 % drop in underlying pre - tax profits , from £ 681 m to £ 587 m in March . Sales slipped by 1.1pc to £25.8bn as Sainsbury's continued to battle its "Big Four" rivals and sprawling discounters Aldi and Lidl. Cost of the intense supermarket price war , falling fuel prices and deflation contributed to the decline . Sales fell 1.1 % to £ 25.8bn and like - for - like sales were down 0.9 % during the year . Asda performed the worst of the ' Big Four ' supermarkets with a 17 % drop but Boots and Lidl increased sales by 12.5 % and 15.4 % respectively .
Sainsbury 's has posted a nearly 20 % drop in underlying pre - tax profits , from £ 681 m to £ 587 m in March . Cost of the intense supermarket price war , falling fuel prices and deflation contributed to the decline . Sales fell 1.1 % to £ 25.8bn and like - for - like sales were down 0.9 % during the year . Asda performed the worst of the ' Big Four ' supermarkets with a 17 % drop but Boots and Lidl increased sales by 12.5 % and 15.4 % respectively .