TESCO

Tesco crisis ‘is over’ as profits and sales jump

The retailer says sales in Britain have risen by 0.6 per cent for the first half of the year and that group sales are up 1 per cent
The retailer says sales in Britain have risen by 0.6 per cent for the first half of the year and that group sales are up 1 per cent
PHIL NOBLE / REUTERS

Tesco’s chief executive declared yesterday that the supermarket group’s crisis was over as he revealed healthy sales growth and set a new profit target that sent the share price soaring.

Only a year after recording the biggest loss in British corporate history, Dave Lewis claimed that he had restored stability and was embarking on a new phase to build momentum.

In the first solid sign of recovery, the retailer said that like-for-like sales in Britain had risen by 0.6 per cent for the first half of the year and that group sales had risen by 1 per cent.

First-half group operating profits increased by more than 60 per cent to £596 million. The figures, which beat expectations, were helped in part by a recovery in