Retailer Tesco has reported a strong performance for its latest financial year in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland, according to its annual results published today (Wednesday, April 10).
The business said it recorded sales growth across all markets and continued cost savings, delivering this financial performance.
A strong sales performance was noted across the group, with retail like-for-like (LFL) sales (which includes store and online sales) up 6.8%.
Inflation fell throughout the year, with resulting volume growth in the UK and Republic of Ireland across the second half.
Central European LFL sales were up 0.2% in what the business said was a “challenging trading environment”.
The group recorded an overall revenue of £68.19 billion, an increase of 4.4%. A retail adjusted operating profit of £2.76 billion, an increase of 10.9% year-on-year, was also recorded.
The profit included a profit in the UK and Ireland of £2.67 billion, an increase of 15.7%. However, operating profit from central Europe only reached £90 million, a decrease of 50%, preliminary due to cost inflation, and regulatory actions in Hungary.
Tesco reduced its net debt by £729 million. Its proposed final dividend for the year is set to increase 11% year-on-year.
The retail group also saw overall gains in both value and volume share in both the UK and Ireland.
The latest financial year saw the business open 87 new stores, 74 of which were in the UK, four were in Ireland, and nine in central Europe.
Tesco said it continued to “support its agricultural suppliers” in the UK to transition to low-carbon fertilisers through the second year of its trial programme, which covered 10 times the agricultural land area as the first year.
The retailer said it is also continuing to “take action on climate change”, and in the last financial year became “one of the first companies globally to set validated science-based targets on all greenhouse gas emissions” across its full group value chain, including those originating from forests, land and agriculture.
Commenting on these financial results, Ken Murphy, the Tesco group chief executive, said: “Inflationary pressures have lessened substantially. However, we are conscious that things are still difficult for many customers, so we have worked hard to reduce prices.”