Supermarket giant Sainsbury's has made record market share gains in its first half.

Results for the 28 weeks to September 16 show grocery sales are up 10.1%.

Sainsbury's said this is the result of the strategic investment it has made in its food business over the last three years - improving value, innovation and customer service.

It expects underlying profit before tax for the year of between £670 million and £700 million, in the upper half of its previous profit guidance range.

The majority of Sainsbury's customers are now shopping with Nectar. The retailer has introduced Nectar Prices to more than 6,000 products, which it said has helped shoppers save over £450 million since April.

General merchandise sales for the half were up 1.1%, while clothing sales were down 8.4%, which it said was due to a 'seasonally weak and promotionally-driven market'.

Simon Roberts, chief executive of J Sainsbury plc, said: "Food is firmly back at the heart of Sainsbury's. We've never been more competitive on price and our focus on value, innovation and service is giving more customers more reasons to shop with us.

"We know people are still finding things tough and we're working harder than ever to reduce our costs, putting the money back into our customers' pockets through lower prices on the products they buy most often. I'm pleased to say food inflation is coming down and we are passing savings on to customers."

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