Tesco Ireland bags 16% sales rise

Tuesday, 25 April 2006

Tesco Ireland has reported sales of just under €2.5 billion for the year to the end of February, an increase of 16% on the previous year. The group does not give a profit figure for its Irish operations.

The company said particularly strong growth was recorded in non-food sectors such as clothing, hardware and home entertainment. Tesco Ireland said it made price cuts valued at €40m during the year.

Tesco said its share of the retail petrol market was now 5%, with three new filling stations opened during the year. Online grocery sales rose 24% to €18.8m, while its personal finance arm issued 26,000 credit cards and 2,600 car insurance policies.

Tesco Ireland now has 93 stores and employs 12,500. Four new stores are under construction. Chief executive Tony Keohane described the performance as satisfactory given the strength of competition in the market.

Meanwhile, the parent company reported annual profits of £2.2 billion - a jump of almost 17% on a year earlier. The latest improvement included a 10.7% rise in total sales at its UK stores, even though the company said it had been a 'more challenging year'.

Tesco also revealed plans to boost its firepower by raising up to £5 billion from the reorganisation of its property portfolio over the next five years.