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.