LONDON—Supermarket group Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, said Thursday that net profit gained in its first half as cost pressures eased for consumers and companies.
Profit after tax jumped 13 percent to £1.1 billion ($1.4 billion) in the six months to late August from a year earlier with sales rising as inflation cooled, Tesco said in a statement. Group sales rose 3.1 percent to £35.2 billion in the first half.
The supermarket giant reduced costs by £260 million in the first half and said that it expects to cut them by £500 million over the full year.
“We are in good shape, with volume growth delivering strong financial performance,” Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy said in the earnings statement.
The company noted that “sales inflation returned to more normaliZed levels as cost inflation headwinds eased”. Soaring inflation in recent years sent costs jumping for companies while also reducing the amount of goods sold, lowering profits and in some cases causing huge losses. AFP
