Tesco stores going strong

TESCO reported a strong performance from its Irish stores yesterday as the retail giant racked up a 19% increase in first-half profits.

The group’s pre-tax profits came in at £908 million (€1.35 billion) for the six months to mid-August. Total sales were 14% ahead at £18.8bn (€26.7bn).

The company declined to give a detailed breakdown of the performance of its Irish operations but said the period had been “good” here, largely thanks to a strong like-for-like performance from existing stores and the addition of extra retail space.