Sainsbury's is benefiting from a rapid growth in sales online and in its convenience stores.
Food sales have also been boosted by a successful revamp of its own brand range and the launch of the Brand Match voucher scheme.
Sainsbury's could now overtake Asda this year to reclaim the position as the second biggest food retailer in the country behind Tesco. Sainsbury's lost the number two position to Asda in 2003, the year that the company announced Mr King would be its new chief executive.
City analysts have forecast annual pre-tax profits up 5pc to £748m and like-for-like sales up 1.8pc. This would be the best result under Mr King, although profits are below Sainsbury's 1990s heyday.
The figures from Sainsbury's will contrast sharply with Tesco, which reported a 52pc drop in pre-tax profits amid falling sales in the UK, and Wm Morrison, which this week is expected to warn that like-for-like sales fell by up to 2pc in the past three months.
The release of Sainsbury's results is likely to lead to new questions for the company about the future of Mr King. Speculation in the City has suggested he is ready for a new challenge and he has been linked with the role as the chief executive of Formula One.
It is understood that David Tyler, the chairman of Sainsbury's, has asked headhunter Egon Zehnder to work on a succession plan, although the company has consistently denied Mr King is planning to step down. Mike Coupe, Sainsbury's commercial director, is the favourite to succeed Mr King.
