Employees at supermarket giant Sainsbury's will share £60 million in bonuses after the firm posted an 11.3% profit hike to £543 million.
The bonus pot will be shared between 120,000 staff, bringing the total amount paid out to £210 million since the the launch of the retailer's Making Sainsbury's Great Again (MSGA) programme.
In addition, employees have broken their share plan performance targets. This means the second release of shares under the scheme, due in May, will be made to around 1,000 managers.
Justin King, chief executive of J Sainsbury, said: "Fixing fundamental parts of our operation through our MSGA recovery programme has placed the business in a strong position. Although consumer confidence in the UK has declined during the year, our performance improved as a result of the strength of the Sainsbury's brand and actions we have taken to adjust our offer to changing customer trends."
In its preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 21 March 2009, the firm reported that total sales were up 5.7% and underlying profit before tax reached £543 million, compared to £466 million in 2008.