Sainsbury plc has declared a final dividend of 9.9 pence per share. This brings the full-year dividend to 13.1 pence per share, a 24% increase, reflecting the strong growth in earnings per share and covered 1.9 times by underlying earnings.
Other financial highlights include:
Underlying profit before tax of £730 million, up 25% versus FY 2019/20 and up 104% versus FY 2020/21, which included substantial COVID-19 costs
Statutory profit before tax of £854 million versus £278 million in FY 2019/20 and a loss of £164 million in FY 2020/21
Financial Services £38 million profit versus FY 2020/21 £21 million loss and £48 million profit in FY 2019/20
Strong Retail Free Cash Flow of £503 million. Average Free Cash Flow in three years to March 2022 £633 million
Non-lease Net Debt down £1,381 million in three years to March 2022, ahead of target £950 million+ over four years
Capital allocation framework updated. Initial commitment to increase dividend payout ratio to around 60%
