Tesco confirmed its position as Britain's biggest grocer when it announced full-year profits of more than £1 billion.
Tesco sales were up 11.9 per cent to £22.8 billion and underlying profit before tax was up by 12 per cent to £1.07 billion.
The company, which has many outlets in Ireland, also announced it was to create 20,000 jobs this year on top of the 240,000 people it already employs worldwide. Sales in the Republic were ahead 6.7 per cent on last year, the company said.
Tesco's market share of the retail grocery market grew by 2 per cent to 24 per cent in 1999. The group opened stores at Maynooth and Castlebar and said it will open five new stores this year.
Tesco said further expansion is likely now that the planning rules on supermarket size have been clarified.
In January the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dempsey, extended the floor space cap in Dublin to 3,500 square metres from 3,000. The 3,000 square metres limit outside the greater Dublin area remains.
Tesco has been buoyed by strong sales of non-food items such as televisions, electronics and clothing.
It has also been given a boost by its growing international operations. Its stores in Hungary and Thailand have done well.
Mr Terry Leahy, Tesco chief executive, said: "This year the Tesco strategy has continued to deliver for the customer. All four parts of this strategy - a strong core British business, non-food, retailing services and our international business - have contributed to these strong results.
"We made good progress on our long term transformation from a domestic to an international retailer and we achieved sales growth that is gaining momentum and delivering the fastest organic growth rate of any major international retailer."
PA