Sainsbury's sees profits rise 6.6%

Sainsbury's said its efforts to help shoppers cope with tighter budgets were paying off after it reported a 6.6% rise in half-year profits.

The supermarket, which revealed a surplus of £354 million for the six months to October 1, increased total sales by 7.6% to £12.8 billion as customer visits to its stores rose by nearly one million to almost 22 million a week.