Tesco reported a 21.3 per cent jump in half-year profits today as it continued to outperform rivals and consumers kept spending through a heatwave.
Britain's biggest food retailer said underlying pre-tax profits were £661 million sterling (€939 million) in the 24 weeks to August 9th. Dealers forecast the shares would open slightly above yesterday's 228-1/2p close.
British like-for-like sales, a measure of how well a company is expanding its existing business, rose 6.3 per cent. That compares with growth of 5.8 per cent in the first quarter, surpasssing Tesco's own long-term 3-4 per cent target.
The acceleration in sales growth was expected after a prolonged summer heat wave sent customers in search of barbecues and fresh food and drink.
Tesco said group sales grew 17 per cent. The firm has also expanded into ten overseas markets across eastern Europe and Asia and has made big inroads into non-food markets such as clothing, music and electronics.
The next British supermarket to report this week is William Morrison Supermarkets, the nation's fifth largest chain. Tesco and Morrison are locked in a four-way battle to buy rival chain Safeway.