London pre-open: Sainsbury lights up at Christmas

11th Jan 2012 07:22

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 13 points from yesterday's close of 5,696 as investors pause for breath following yesterday's sharp rise, which was sparked by the announcement that Fitch does not intend to downgrade France this year. Supermarket chain Sainsbury was widely expected to have had the best Christmas of the major UK players, and it appears to have set a high benchmark with a record-breaking festive performance. Total sales for the 14 weeks to January 7th were up 7.0% from a year earlier, or up 4.5% with fuel sales excluded. Like-for-like (LFL) sales were up 4.8%, or up 2.1% excluding fuel. Broker Nomura Securities had predicted LFL sales (excluding fuel) growth of 2.0%.Bakery and hot snacks vendor Greggs was on a roll over Christmas, with like-for-like (LFL) sales growth of 5.1% in the five weeks to January 7th. Total sales grew by 10.8% for the period. For 2011 as a whole, total sales were up 5.8% from 2010, with LFL sales up 1.4%. The company said it is on track to deliver 2011 results in line with expectations.A joint venture featuring engineering and project management services firm AMEC plus Babcock Networks and Mott MacDonald has been awarded a five-year extension by National Grid to its existing five-year Electricity Alliance West contract to upgrade overhead power lines and underground cables across the western half of England and all of Wales.NR