Tesco raises full year profit guidance after strong first half performance
Tesco has raised its full year profit guidance after posting uplifts in sales and profit in the six months to 24 August 2024.
Group sales increased by 4% at constant rates to £31.5 billion as the supermarket continued to invest in value, quality and service.
Sales growth was volume driven with retail like-for-like sales up 2.9% across the business. In the UK, Ireland and Central Europe retail like-for-likes rose by 4%, 4.7% and 0.6% respectively.
With sales inflation returning to more normal levels, Tesco said it was able to work with suppliers to lower prices for customers as quickly as possible. It also invested in additional hours for staff in its stores which equated to more than 2,000 extra colleague roles year-on-year.
Ken Murphy, chief executive of Tesco, said: “We’ve been working really hard to offer our customers the best possible value, quality, and service and they are shopping more at Tesco as a result.
“We have lowered prices on thousands of lines, launched or improved over 860 products in partnership with our suppliers and growers, and our customer satisfaction scores continue to improve across a broad range of measures.”
The supermarket’s retail adjusted operating profit increased by 10% at constant rates to £1.55 billion in the period while statutory pre-tax profit improved by 19.9% to £1.39 billion year-on-year.
Due to the strong performance, Tesco now expects its full year retail adjusted operating profit to come in at around £2.9 billion compared to a previous guidance of at least £2.8 billion.
Murphy added: “We are in good shape, with volume growth delivering strong financial performance. This builds on our track record of delivery for all our stakeholders. Our strong momentum allows us to continue to focus on value, quality, innovation, and the broader customer experience, whilst investing in growth opportunities in a disciplined, returns-focused way.”
