j sainsbury plc said wednesday that likeforlike sales including fuel for the third quarter of fiscal 2022 fell but upgraded its fullyear market expectations on lower costs marketshare growth and higher grocery volumes during christmas the uk grocer said likeforlike sales excluding fuel fell 45 in the 16 weeks ended jan 8 likeforlike sales including fuel rose 06 it said total grocery sales fell 11 in the third quarter with general merchandise sales declining 16 and clothing sales falling 27 fuel sales on the other hand increased 48 in the period it said the ftse 100 listed company has upgraded its underlying pretax profit expectations for the year ending march to at least 720 million pounds 9816 million up from its previous reported guidance of at least gbp660 million the company said argos continued to benefit from stronger margins supported by transformational operating cost reductions and that its financial services profit expectations are running ahead of consensus sainsbury said its debtreduction target is currently expected to be achieved ahead of schedule our bold investments in value new products and service have driven volume market share gains growing ahead of the market through the third quarter and the key christmas period over one and two years sainsbury said