SAINSBURY'S staff will share a bonus pot of around £60m after the supermarket chain posted a 9% rise in annual profits to £665m.

The payout for 124,000 workers, which compares with a bonus pool of more than £80m last year, comes after the group overcame a faltering market to increase sales by 7.1% to £22.9bn in the year to March 19, and profits by 13% to £827m

Average customer transactions rose to 21 million a week, up 1 million on a year ago, while the chain also said it benefited from the opening of new stores and strong growth in non-food ranges.

Sainsbury’s Local convenience stores broke through the £1bn sales barrier for the first time and its online grocery delivery business grew by 20%.

The profits figures were slightly better than the City’s forecast of £660m, even though the group recently shocked the market with worse-than- expected sales growth in its fourth quarter.

Sainsbury’s said it had outperformed the market in challenging conditions, as household budgets were put under significant pressure from price inflation.

It claimed to have made cost savings to keep its prices low to attract cash- strapped consumers, which helped its share of the grocery market increase to 16.3% from 16.1% a year ago.

Non-food sales increased at three times the rate of its food sales, as it enjoyed strong growth in areas such as books and DVDs. Sainsbury’s now claims its TU brand is the seventh largest clothes retailer in the UK.

The company’s growth has also been boosted by opening 68 new stores, bringing its total to 934. Many were opened in Scotland, the South West and Wales, where the supermarket was under-represented. It also extended 24 stores, mainly in the South East.

Sainsbury’s Bank also put in a strong performance after operating profits increased by 50%.

The chain will maintain the rapid rate of store expansion, and plans to open between 15 and 20 new supermarkets in the year, and one or two convenience stores a week.