British supermarket chain Tesco continues its road to recovery. In the first half of its current fiscal year, turnover grew 3.3 %, mainly thanks to advantageous exchange rate fluctuations.
Strong profit growth
In the first six months of the fiscal year, Tesco’s turnover reached 25.2 billion pounds (28 billion euro), up 3.3 % compared to the year before. Excluding exchange rate fluctuations, turnover would have grown 0.7 %. Its operating profit grew 23.7 % to 759 million pounds (850 million euro), a seventh straight quarter with progress.
In Tesco’s prime market, the United Kingdom, like-for-like turnover grew 2.2 % and there was a 1.1 % increase in Ireland. Central European like-for-like turnover remained stable, but Asia suffered an 8.3 % drop because it divested in several regional activities.
Tesco says it is well on its way to reaching its 2020 forecast, which includes 1.5 billion pounds (1.7 billion euro) in cost-saving measures.
