Wednesday preview: Sainsbury releases second quarter results

30th Sep 2014 14:11

Sainsbury will take to the podium with its latest interim results on Wednesday.Like the other 'Big Four' UK supermarkets, the company has come under pressure as it has lost market share to discounters including Aldi and Lidl.The competition has prompted a price war among the 'Big Four', which also includes Tesco, WM Morrison and Asda.Against this backdrop, Sainsbury slashed the cost of diesel and petrol by 5p a litre on Tuesday ahead of its second quarter results. Tesco also announced a 5p drop, while Asda said it would reduce petrol by up to 1p and diesel by 2p.Sainsbury's first quarter showed a 1.1% fall in like-for-like retail sales, excluding fuel. At the time the results were published in June, the company said it was continuing to invest in improving the quality of its products with its own-brand items including its successful Taste the Difference premium selection.The firm also opened 27 new convenience stores and refurbished a further 12 convenience stores."We expect customer spending to remain cautious and we will continue to invest to keep our offer competitive to help customers balance their household budget," the group said."We remain confident that our clear strategy and differentiated offer will allow us to continue to outperform our supermarket peers through the remainder of the year."Tesco was also due to report its results, but has delayed the release until next month amid an investigation into accounting practices. The supermarket is looking into how it managed to overestimate its profits by £250m.Wednesday 1 OctoberINTERIMSWalker GreenbankINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE888 Holdings, Avesco Group, FBD Holdings, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, Legal & General Group, Novae Group, Portmeirion Group, Robinson, RTC GroupINTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE32Red, Advanced Medical Solutions Group, Air Partner, Barr (A.G.), Bodycote, Braime (T.F.& J.H.) Holdings, Braime (T.F.& J.H.) Holdings (Non-Voting), BrainJuicer Group, Cello Group, Epwin Group, Fairpoint Group, Fisher (James) & Sons, Hargreave Hale AIM VCT 2, Highland Gold Mining Ltd., Huntsworth, IDOX, Inmarsat, Intertek Group, Journey Group, Keywords Studios, Lighthouse Group, Morgan Sindall Group, Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets, NAHL Group, New Europe Property Investments, Northbridge Industrial Services, Safestyle UK , Smurfit Kappa Group, Somero Enterprises Inc.(Reg S), Stadium Group, Tandem GroupQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATEAlbion Technology & General VCT, British Land Co, CQS Diversified Fund Ltd Ord NPV £, Investors Capital Trust 'A' Shares, Mercantile Investment Trust (The), Schroder Income Growth Fund, Torchmark Corp.INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSAuto Sales (US) (15:00)Construction Spending (US) (15:00)Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)ISM Manufacturing (US) (15:00)ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00)MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)PMI Manufacturing (EU) (09:00)PMI Manufacturing (GER) (08:55)GMSBeacon Hill ResourcesFINALSJames HalsteadAGMSKromek GroupTRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSITE Group, Sainsbury (J)UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSPMI Manufacturing (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEPark Group, PZ Cussons, Stagecoach GroupFINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATEAbbey, Accumuli , Anite, Hansard Global, HML Holdings, JPMorgan Mid Cap Inv Trust, Mid Wynd International Inv Trust, Murgitroyd Group, Smith (DS)