Tesco posts 10.5 per cent profit drop
Tesco posted a 10.5 per cent drop in first-half trading profit this morning.
Over the six months to 25 August, profit came in at to £1.6bn.
A £1bn capital investment programme, to stem a decline in market share to chains such as Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, was largely responsible for the firm’s first fall in profits in nearly 20 years.
The group has used the money to recruit 8,000 additional permanent staff to give customers better service, devoted more store space to food, given stores a warmer look and feel, revamped food ranges and invested more in lower prices, money-off vouchers and marketing, making better use of customer information gleaned from its Clubcard loyalty scheme.
Sales across the group increased by 1.4 per cent to £36bn, while UK like-for-like sales rose 0.1 per cent over the period.