(Finance) – TescoBritain’s largest grocery chain, has closedfinancial year 2023/24 with “excellent sales performance across the group”, with the Retail sales LFL up by 6.8%; inflation eased over the year, with volume growth in the UK and the Republic of Ireland in the second half. THE revenues were £68,187m, up 4.4%, and include the impact of a -17.2% reduction in fuel sales, primarily due to lower retail prices.
L’operating profit was £2,821m, up 100.1%, and reflects last year’s -£982m non-cash write-downs compared to this year’s net release of £28m. On base adjustedoperating profit was 2,829 million pounds (+12.8%).
“This excellent performance reflects the hard work of colleagues across the entire group and their commitment to serving our customers – commented the CEO Ken Murphy – Customers are choosing to shop more at Tesco, which is reflected in the growing market share as they respond to the improvements we have made to the value and quality of our products.”
“The inflationary pressures have subsided substantially, however we recognize that things are still difficult for many customers, so we have worked hard to reduce prices and are now the cheapest full-line grocery store in over a year,” he added.
“We have a strong momentum in our business and we are encouraged by signs of improvement in consumer confidence Murphy said, “We are excited about the opportunities ahead, with the right plans to continue winning customers, as well as a great team to deliver.”
For thefinancial year 2024/25, Tesco expects adjusted retail operating profit of at least £2.8 billion. Furthermore, it expects total adjusted operating profit from Tesco Bank’s operations of around £80 million. It expects to generate retail free cash flow within the guidance range of £1.4 billion to £1.8 billion.