A shopper walks past an Asda superstore in south London, August 13, 2009.
A shopper walks past an Asda superstore in south London, August 13, 2009. Reuters/Luke MacGregor

Supermarket chain Asda today reported a rise in fourth quarter like for like sales of 1.6 per cent, thanks to what it called a "good Christmas" and the strong growth of its "Extra Special" range of goods.

Following a successful Christmas period Asda said it would be paying out £26.9 million in bonuses to its store colleagues.

Andy Clarke, President and CEO if Asda, said, "I'm pleased with the progress we've made in the last six months. We have successfully extended our price gap to ten per cent, significantly improved the quality of our food across the entire store, and given our customers even better service.

"Since the Asda Price Guarantee was relaunched at the turn of the year 800,000 people have taken advantage of our ten per cent price promise, helping us attract even more customers."