Sainsbury's Cuts Dividend as FY17 Sales Fall

J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN) reported a 0.6% fall Wednesday in full-year like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, to 29.11 billion pounds ($37.6 billion) and cut its dividend.

The board proposed a final dividend of 6.6 pence a share, bringing the total payout for the year to 10.2 pence a share, down 16% from a year earlier.

The retailer's pretax profit in the 12 months ended March 11 decreased by 8.2% to GBP503 million from GBP548 million.

Chief Executive Mike Coupe said the company was on track to deliver on its three-year GBP500 million cost-saving program.

The company said it had opened 59 Argos Digital stores in its supermarkets since purchasing the U.K. retailer's parent company, Home Retailer, in September 2016. Sainsbury's is accelerating its plan to open 250 Argos Digital stores, it added.

Sainsbury's shares closed at 279.50 pence on Tuesday.

-Write to Olga Cotaga at olga.cotaga@wsj.com, Twitter @OlgaCotaga

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 03, 2017 02:46 ET (06:46 GMT)