Sainsbury’s is doing rather well for itself. Here’s why that presents a problem

Customers will find bumper profits difficult to swallow in the middle of a cost of living crisis, leaving supermarkets with a difficult PR needle to thread, writes James Moore

Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts has said the grocery chain will continue to pump funds into offsetting rising costs over the rest of the year (PA)

“We really understand how hard it is for millions of households right now and that’s why we are investing £500m and doing everything we can to keep our prices low, especially on the products customers buy most often.”

So said Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts, kicking off the group’s first-quarter trading statement.

These are supposed to be released for the benefit of the City, which will have been reassured by the headline immediately above those lead-off quotes. It declared that trading was in line with expectations and that the outlook was unchanged. Right now, that counts as some kind of achievement.