Tesco Ireland has reported a 6.3% drop in sales, year-on-year, for the 52-week period ending February 23, 2015.
Total revenues – including petrol but excluding VAT – totalled €2.56bn for the 12 months in question. However, the company does not make available a profit or loss figure for its Irish operation.
Tesco Ireland CEO Andrew Yaxley referred to the performance of the business during 2014/115 as being “reflective of a highly competitive and challenging retail market.”
“We are making long-term investments in the things that matter most to customers: reducing prices on everyday items, enhancing the quality of our fresh food offering and improving service.
“We are already seeing early indications that we are moving in the right direction with an up-lift in customer loyalty and fresh produce volumes, which are important positive indicators of growing customer confidence,” he said.
The past year has seen Tesco open five new stores including: Tesco Park Pointe Superstore, Co. Dublin; Tesco Extra Dundalk, Co. Louth; Tesco Ballincollig Superstore, Co. Cork; Tesco Express, Aungier St., Co. Dublin; Tesco Express Pearse St., Co. Dublin.
It also says its online business saw strong growth in the year, underpinned by the launch of a new home delivery subscription service.
It also continued to expand Click & Collect with 15 stations now in operation including tram stops in Stillorgan and the Red Cow, Dublin through a strategic partnership with Luas.
Tesco Ireland currently works with over 11,000 farming families and over 400 Irish suppliers. It says that all of the fresh beef, pork, lamb, eggs and milk Tesco Ireland sells is 100% Irish.
Meanwhile, Tesco plc has reported a record statutory pre-tax loss of £6.4bn for the year to the end of February. For the most part, this figure was accounted for by a fall in the value of its property portfolio in the UK.