Tesco Ireland reports rise in revenues as online sales soar

Tesco’s Irish business recorded sales of €2.67 billion for the 52 weeks ending February 27th, up 13 per cent versus the prior year.

Like-for-like sales rose 14 per cent as more of the company’s Irish customers bought more goods during Covid lockdowns.

Tesco said it increased capacity for its online business in the Republic by over 60 per cent last year in response to customer demand, with online sales jumping from 6 per cent to 9 per cent.

The company said sales had also been driven by “particularly strong growth” in its large stores.

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Tesco has 151 stores in the Republic and employs over 13,000 people.

Tesco Ireland’s parent beat its guidance by reporting total adjusted retail operating profit of £1.99 billion (€2.29 billion) after seeing “exceptionally strong” sales during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The retailer reported a 6.3 per cent rise in group like-for-like sales, including a 7.7 per cent lift in its core British market. Online surged 77 per cent to £6.3 billion as it doubled capacity to 1.5 million slots a week.

Operating profit, however, fell 14.7 per cent as the company incurred costs in adapting to the pandemic.

Chief executive Ken Murphy said Tesco had shown incredible strength and agility.

“While the pandemic is not yet over, we’re well-placed to build on the momentum in our business,” he said.

It said that while some of the additional sales volumes would fall away as Covid-19 restrictions ease, it expected a strong recovery in profitability and retail free cash flow as the majority of the costs incurred in the pandemic would not be repeated.

Additional reporting: Reuters