Supermarket giant Tesco has revealed a weaker-than-expected increase in sales for the past three months amid “uncertainty” linked to the Middle East crisis. The retailer announced that total sales increased by 1% to £16.8 billion over the 13 weeks to May 30, compared with a year earlier.
Tesco UK and ROI (Republic of Ireland) saw like-for-like sales grow by 1.8%, driven by positive growth in food sales. However, this represented a slowdown compared with the prior quarter.
The grocery firm stated that food sales were 2.6% higher, with fresh food up 3.6% and a 9% jump across its Finest range of products. Tesco maintained its profit guidance for the year, expecting operating profits between £3 billion and £3.3 billion.
CEO Ken Murphy commented: “I am pleased with our progress in the first quarter, with customer satisfaction up strongly and continued sales growth building on the exceptional performance we delivered last year. With the conflict in the Middle East creating ongoing uncertainty for many households, we remain focused on giving customers the very best combination of price, quality and service.”
