Sainsbury’s reported a 9 percent fall in profits for the first-half of the year, sending shares down in mid-morning trading.

Profits fell to £277 million, with alongside a 1 percent fall in like-for-like sales in the 28 weeks leading to the end of September.

However, total group revenue rose by 1.8 percent to £12.6 billion over the same period, facilitated by strong online growth. Sainsbury’s also announced the opening of 16 new smaller convenience locations.

Sainsbury’s cited “price pressures” as a key driver of the downturn in profit, despite an overall strong market. As a result of the Brexit-related weakness in the pound, retailers across the UK anticipate a rise in costs.

In spite of disappointing numbers, chief executive Mike Coupe remained positive about the company’s prospects. He assured that the supermarket had been seeing “good progress” in regards to their UK retail strategy.

In a statement, Coupe commented:

“We have invested in the quality of our products while reducing prices on everyday items, delivering volume growth and outperforming the market in customer service and availability.”

Supermarkets have already begun raising the prices of certain products in response to sterling weakness, including Unilever items and Walkers crisps. According to research conducted by The Guardian and MySupermarket, Sainsbury’s have hiked prices for Unilever products by the biggest percentage so far.

Earlier in the year, Sainsbury’s acquired Argos-owned Home Retail Group in a bid to expand its non-food related produce in its stores. Mr Coupe continued:

“By Christmas we will open 30 Argos digital stores and create a further 30 Argos digital collection points in our supermarkets.”