Tesco Plc notched a whopping 691.5% rise in profit before tax to £562m in the first half of 2017-18, the group reported in its interim results today.
In the 26 weeks to August 26, the company saw a 3.3% rise in group sales to £25.2bn.
Tesco saw like-for-like sales up 2.2% in the UK, while high growth rates were seen in operational profits in Central Europe (+258.8%; £61m) and Asia (+39.6%; £141m).
The retailer also drew attention to fresh food volume growth of 1.5% in the UK, driven by ongoing improvements in its offering.
Over the period Tesco introduced 800 new products for customers including innovations in fresh produce such as miniature avocados and a fun-shaped vegetable range for kids.
“We are continuing to make strong progress. Sales are up, profits are up, cash generation continues to strengthen and net debt levels are less than half what they were when we started our turnaround three years ago,” chief executive Dave Lewis said in an announcement.
“All of this is possible because of the focus we have placed on serving shoppers a little better every day. Our offer is more competitive and more customers are shopping at Tesco.
“Today’s announcement that we are resuming our dividend reflects our confidence that we can build on our strong performance to date and in doing so, create long-term, sustainable value for all of our stakeholders.”
