Tesco Ireland has today reported total revenue of €2.5 billion over the year to the end of February as it saw the first quarter like-for-like sales increase since 2012.
The supermarket chain said its like-for-like sales here, a figure which excludes the impact of new store openings on sales during the full year, fell by 1.9%.
The company said that its Irish sales were down over 4% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period a year earlier. They also fell in the second and third quarters, though at a slower rate.
But by its fourth fiscal quarter - the three months to the end of February this year - Tesco Ireland turned the corner, as it reported 1% growth in sales.
This marked the first quarter of like-for-like sales growth here since 2012.
It said the increase came on the back of lower prices on commonly purchased items, greater product range and availability and the deployment of more staff to help customers during busy periods.
Tesco said it continues to be the biggest buyer of Irish food and drink in the world, buying €1.6 billion of Irish food and drink including €931m for export. It also said sources 100% of its fresh chicken, pork, beef, lamb, eggs and milk in Ireland.
Tesco also today announced the localisation of its customer care centre to improve its customer service through a new partnership with Tech Mahindra, creating 22 new jobs in Waterford.
Over the company employs 14,500 people in 149 stores, head office, depot and 22 petrol stations around the country.
But the company is set to reduce pay and conditions for around 1,000 of its 14,000 employees this month.
The workers hold pre-1996 contracts of employment involving higher rates of pay than those applicable to staff recruited after 1996.
Tesco has said it wants to streamline its pay grades and sick pay arrangements for its 14,500 staff. The company believes the pre-1996 contracts are not sufficiently flexible to meet the needs for longer opening hours and changed trading patterns.
Meanwhile, the supermarket's UK parent reported a bottom-line pre-tax profit of £162m for the year to February 27, compared to a loss of £6.3 billion the previous year.
The Tesco Group also posted its first quarterly UK sales growth for three years.
On an underlying basis, the latest set of results showed group operating profits of £944m, up 1.1% on £940m the previous year, when it reported a 68% slump in trading profits.
Tesco's chief executive Dave Lewis said the company had made significant progress against the priorities it had set out in October 2014 despite the "challenging, deflationary and uncertain market".
"Our balance sheet is stronger and we are making good progress in rebuilding trust in Tesco and our investment case," Mr Lewis said.
Mr Lewis said the company's process of transformation has generated broad-based positive momentum in the UK and internationally.
"We set out to start rebuilding profitability whilst reinvesting in the customer offer, and we have done this. More customers are buying more things more often at Tesco," he stated.
"We are confident that the investments we are making are leading to sustainable improvements for customers whilst creating long-term value for our shareholders," he added.
Mr Lewis said management actions had "stabilised" the business, which he admitted was in "crisis" when he replaced previous chief executive Philip Clarke in September 2014.
He took over at a grim time, with Tesco uncovering a £326m accounting black hole in autumn 2014 and suffering plunging sales.
Its woes were compounded as trading across the sector was hit by falling food prices, made worse by a price war sparked by the increasing might of discounters Aldi and Lidl.
While the results showed Tesco's trading has turned the corner, Mr Lewis was reluctant to call the end of falling sales, stressing the group continued to trade in "uncertain times".
Tesco added the chain's investment in price cuts would slow its profit improvement, "particularly in the first half".
Under Mr Lewis, Tesco has shut 60 unprofitable stores since the start of its financial year and shelved plans to open a further 49 shops.
He has also cut prices across hundreds of lines, while making a raft of changes such as shutting Tesco's final salary pension scheme and selling its loss-making Blinkbox operation selling online videos.
He kicked off the next expected wave of asset sales by offloading an 8.6% stake in Singaporean online business Lazada to China's ecommerce giant Alibaba for £91m.
Tesco is also reportedly planning to sell off the Dobbies Garden Centres chain, coffee shop Harris & Hoole and restaurant Giraffe to focus on the main supermarket business, but Mr Lewis declined to comment on the speculation.
