Sainsbury’s keeps up momentum of strong results with the announcement it is to raise £445m to speed up growth.

The UK’s leading supermarkets – Sainsbury’s and Tesco – have both reported an encouraging start to 2009 with increases in first quarter sales* of 3.2% and 4.3% respectively.

Sainsbury’s, which issued its first quarter trading statement today (17 June) for the 12 weeks to 13 June 2009, said that its like-for-like sales, those that don’t take into account new store openings, was up 2.5%, or 7% excluding fuel.

Chief Executive, Justin King, said: “I’m delighted to report another strong quarter of sales growth as we continue to provide universal customer appeal and build on the strength of the Sainsbury’s brand.

“Providing both quality and value has been central to our brand throughout our 140-year history and remains at the heart of our business. Customers know that saving money at Sainsbury’s does not mean compromising on quality or values.”

Mr King also announced that customer numbers had increased to over 18.5 million a week and that investment in its product ranges and price has been key in helping its customers get real value from their shop, resulting in an increase “in basket size”.

In a separate statement issued today, Sainsbury’s declared its intention to raise £445 million “via a placing of new ordinary shares and an issue of convertible bonds”, in order to speed up its business growth and acquire new floor space.

However, Sainsbury’s has seen its share price take a knock since today’s trading began, with a drop of 16.5p to 315.25p.

Supermarket giant, Tesco, which released its trading figures yesterday (16 June), has reported the strongest growth of the pack, both home and abroad. The company has announced total group sales have increased by 12.6%*, or 9.7% including fuel, with its international sales providing a welcome boost to its overall results. In Asia alone, sales rose by helped primarily by an outstanding performance from “converted Homever stores in Korea.”

Tesco Chief Executive, Terry Leahy, commented: “We’ve made a solid start to the financial year, maintaining good momentum in a challenging economic climate – by investing in our offer for customers and adjusting our businesses well locally to meet their changing needs.”

Earlier this month, Morrisons released its first quarter results to coincide with the company’s AGM. Once again, the supermarket had an encouraging start to the year, as it reported that total sales* were up 9.2%.

*excluding fuel