All eyes on Tesco’s ‘Drastic Dave’ Lewis

Traders will be keeping a nervous eye on Tesco this Thursday, when the embattled supermarket behemoth is due to release a third-quarter trading update.

Chief executive Dave Lewis – the ex-Unilever turnaround king dubbed "Drastic Dave" – has promised to provide more detail on how the company plans to recover from an undeniably woeful year.

Lewis received a baptism of fire last year when he took over the reins as chief executive. He was barely in the door when he had to issue a warning that profits had been overstated by £250 million; several senior executives were subsequently suspended.

In addition to its internal problems, Tesco has seen discount retailers Aldi and Lidl eat into its market share.

In December, Tesco sent shock waves through markets when it slashed forecasts for its full financial year to the end of February.

It predicted it would make no more than £1.4 billion, which would represent a year-on-year drop of almost 60 per cent. This was well below the market’s already-reduced expectation.

Last month, analysts at Morningstar issued a “high uncertainty” rating on Tesco, saying that the retailer is trying to reinvent itself in the midst of difficult conditions and fierce competition, and that its size limits its options in the near-term.

“The firm has more exposure to large hypermarket formats, and consumers are shifting away from these formats. This leaves Tesco in a difficult spot,” it said. However, despite its rating, Morningstar said it continues to think Tesco will remain a viable competitor in the UK market.