Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, reported a 35.7 percent increase in annual profit, but warned that profit could fall in the current year due to the difficult external environment. The group, which holds a 27% share of Britain’s grocery market, reported Wednesday that it achieved a retail adjusted operating profit (RAP) of 2.65 billion for the year ended February 26th. This is in line with guidance of slightly more than 2.6 billion and higher than 1.96 billion in 2020-21.
It saw group sales, excluding fuel, rise by 2.5% to $54.8 billion. UK like for like growth was 0.4% up 8.2% on a two-year pre-pandemic period.
According to the retailer’s Irish sales, it fell by 2.9% to just below 2.5 million. It noted that this was up 10.6 percent compared with the same time two year ago.
It stated that Covid-19 had a particularly strong impact on ROI because restrictions on hospitality were in force for a longer duration than in the UK.
It reported that Republic of Ireland sales grew by 0.3% over Christmas, and that it gained market shares in the fourth quarter.
According to the company, its online business in Ireland grew by 3.1% over a 1-year period and now represents 8% of its total sales.
Chief executive of Tesco Ken Murphy stated that Tesco is at its best when customers are first. This is what we did during the pandemic, and it will continue to be what we do now.
Murphy stated that it was evident that the external environment is more challenging than ever in recent months.
He said that in the face of a challenging backdrop for our customers and household budgets under stress, we are laser-focused to keep the cost of the weekly grocery shop within control. We work closely with our suppliers and do everything we can reduce our own costs.
We are making more products affordable in more places, thanks to our powerful combination Aldi Price Match with Low Everyday prices and Clubcard Prices, he stated.