Tesco's Cork chief executive Ken Murphy says poor weather putting dampener on growth 

Sales in Ireland grow 5.56% to €966m, boosted by strong growth in food and online shopping

Tesco Plc chief executive Ken Murphy said poor weather had hit growth. Picture: Bloomberg

The chief executive of supermarket giant Tesco,  Corkman Ken Murphy, said poor weather was hampering the group's progress, despite sales in Ireland growing 5.56% to £838m (€966m). 

Irish sales were boosted by a strong growth in food sales and online shopping, with like for like sales up 3.3%, and with the added contribution from new stores, total sales were up 5.6%. Across the wider group, the retailer said total sales - Ireland, UK, Central Europe, and its Booker wholesale arm - increased by 1% to £16.8bn (€19.38bn) over the 13 weeks to May 30, compared with a year earlier. UK sale had grown by 1.8%, slower than in the previous quarter. 

Mr Murphy said the biggest impact on growth was the weather. "When the sun shines people eat together more, they spend more,” Mr Murphy said.

“We had sunshine for 22 out of 26 weeks (in 2025). We probably have had 22 out of 26 weeks of rain this year. The (market share) gains we had last year and the sales growth we had were truly exceptional ... so the base is that much higher. 

"In that context, we should be feeling very good about our performance and it's not a sign of a slowdown per se. I wouldn't be reading too much into it."

Mr Murphy acknowledged the conflict in the Middle East creating "ongoing uncertainty" for many households. "We remain focused on giving customers the very best combination of price, quality and service.”

Tesco's online sales in Ireland were up 10.9%, while food sales up 3.7%, with volume growth across both fresh and packaged products.

Looking ahead, in its profit guidance for the year, Tesco said the conflict in the Middle East "continues to create uncertainty for customers and we are committed to delivering the very best combination of price, quality and service. Having made a good start to the year, we continue to expect Group adjusted operating profit of between £3bn (€3.46bn) and £3.3bn (€3.81bn) for FY 26/27 and free cash flow within our medium-term guidance range of £1.5bn to £2.0bn."