Tesco Ireland revenues decline by 5.5%

Tesco Ireland generated revenues of just under €3 billion last year, in what it called “a challenging trading climate”.

The figure — precisely €2.97bn — marked a 5.5% decline in like-for-like sales for the Irish division of the international supermarket giant.

On a group-wide basis, Tesco yesterday reported a 6% annualised drop in trading profit, for the 12 months to the end of February, to just over £3.3bn (underlying pre-tax profits falling by nearly 7%), reflecting difficult market conditions both in its core British business and its European operations. Group revenue was flat — showing growth of just 0.2% — and underlying diluted earnings per share fell by 7.3% to 32.05p.

In Ireland — where the group employs more than 13,000 people across nearly 120 stores — Tesco’s market dominance has been slowly eaten into, in recent quarters, with the likes of SuperValu and the German discounters making inroads.

However, Tesco Ireland said, yesterday, that it has — over the past 12 months — made important strides in its multi-channel offering. Its grocery home delivery sales have continued to grow, with population coverage now standing at 86% and its Tesco Mobile telephone service has increased customers by 19% to over 220,000.

Tesco opened five new stores, in Ireland, last year (under its Tesco Express brand) and said it expects to open a further 100,000 sq ft of new floor space this year. Its list of Irish goods suppliers now amounts to 400, with 100 being added in the past four years.

In total, the company invested in seven stores last year and created 180 new jobs in the process.

“We continued to improve our offer for customers in a challenging trading climate,” said Tesco’s group chief executive, Philip Clarke, adding that the company continues to source as much local produce as it can here.

Addressing the group, as a whole, Mr Clarke said that management is continuing to transform Tesco, with “a relentless focus” placed on providing “the most compelling offer” for customers.

The latest financial results “reflect the changes we face in a trading environment which is changing more rapidly than ever before. We are determined to lead the industry in this period of change.”