Tesco has upped its profit guidance as sales exceed expectations in the first half

The UK’s largest supermarket reported an adjusted operating profit of £1.6bn, up 15.6% compared with this time last year, while retail-adjusted operating profit was up 9.7% from last year to £1.5bn. 

Group sales were up 3.5% to £31.5bn driven by growth in volume. Retail like-for-like sales were up 2.9%; up 4% in the UK, 4.7% in the Republic of Ireland and 0.6% in Central Europe.

The retailer said given the growth in volume-driven sales and increasing market share, it now expects to deliver around £2.9bn retail-adjusted operating profit for the 2024/25 financial year, up from the previously guided range of £2.8bn.

Chief executive Ken Murphy said: “We’ve been working really hard to offer our customers the best possible value, quality and service, and they are shopping more at Tesco as a result. We have lowered prices on thousands of lines, launched or improved over 860 products in partnership with our suppliers and growers, and our customer satisfaction scores continue to improve across a broad range of measures.  

“The combination of price, quality and innovation means we are as competitive as we have ever been and we have been the cheapest full-line grocer for nearly two years. Our strong UK and ROI market share gains across the last year demonstrate our continued momentum.

“I want to say a big thank you to all my Tesco colleagues for their hard work serving customers so well. As we approach the Christmas season, we are looking forward to sharing the quality of our festive food with customers and can’t wait for them to taste it.

“We are in good shape, with volume growth delivering strong financial performance. This builds on our track record of delivery for all our stakeholders. Our strong momentum allows us to continue to focus on value, quality, innovation and the broader customer experience, while investing in growth opportunities in a disciplined, returns-focused way.”