Results round-up

Supermarket chain and retail group J Sainsbury posted its preliminary results for the year to 11 March on Wednesday, with group sales - including VAT - up 12.7% to £29.11bn, which the board said was mainly as a result of the contribution from its 2016 acquisition Argos.

The FTSE 100 firm said underlying profit before tax was down 1% at £581m, reflecting its investment in the customer offer and cost inflation, offset by cost savings of £130m and a contribution from Argos of £77m.

Underlying basic earnings per share fell 9.9% to 21.8p, and the board confirmed a full year dividend per share of 10.2p - a 15.7% reduction, reflecting dilution due to new shares issued to Home Retail Group shareholders on the acquisition of Argos.

The proposed final dividend was 6.6p, a fall of 18.5% year-on-year.

Net debt stood at £1.48bn, an improvement of £349m, and return on capital employed was reported at 8.8%.

“This has been a pivotal year and we have made significant progress delivering and accelerating our strategy,” said group chief executive Mike Coupe.

Support services company Carillion said on Wednesday that trading conditions have remained largely stable since its full-year 2016 results in March and it has made a promising start to the year.

Chief executive Richard Howson said at the annual general meeting that the group continues to focus on the priorities it set out when it announced its 2016 results. These include the rebalancing of its business into markets and sectors where it can achieve its objectives for margins and cash flows and to manage challenging contract positions, particularly in its international markets.

"We have made an encouraging start to the year in terms of winning new business in our chosen markets, with new orders and probable orders worth approximately £1.3bn, which has increased revenue visibility) for 2017 to over 85%."