Supermarket Tesco sees sales rise again

Tesco has seen another rise in sales, and the retailer says it is on track to hit its full-year profit target.

Like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new store openings, grew 1% in the half-year to 27 August, and in the UK they rose by 0.6%.

Chief executive Dave Lewis said the firm had made “significant progress” in stabilising the business.

The company is still recovering from an accounting scandal as well as reporting a record loss last year.

Three former executives have been charged with fraud in relation to the mis-stating of the company accounts, which they deny.

Separately, the company is also facing legal action from a group of investors who claim to have lost £150m due to the supermarket’s 2014 accounting irregularities scandal.

Asset sales

Tesco said profit before tax fell 28% to £71m for the half-year, mainly due to one-off costs, but the group said it was on track to make £1.2bn in full-year annual operating profit.

“Whilst the market is uncertain, we have made significant progress against the priorities we set out two years ago, stabilising the business and positioning us well for the future,” Mr Lewis said.

In order to restore its profitability, it has been selling business not related to the main business – such as the garden centre Dobbies, the cafe Giraffe and the Harris and Hoole coffee shop. (bbcnews)