Tesco profits jump to £3.2bn

20th Apr 2010 07:03

Tesco reaffirmed its position as the UK's supermarket powerhouse as profits last year surged to nearly £3.2bn with underlying growth of more than 10%.Total sales in the year to end February rose by 6.8% to £62.5bn stripping out petrol. Including fuel, the underlying growth rate rises to 8.5%. Underlying profit rose by 10.1% to just shy of £3.4bn, with pre-tax profits coming in at £3.18bn, up 10.4%. The dividend for the year rises by 9.1% to 13.05p."Our positions in international markets and non-food meant we faced strong headwinds when the downturn came but it will be these parts of our business which will grow fastest as the recovery strengthens," chief executive Terry Leahy said.Like-for-like sales in UK were 2.6% higher excluding petrol and 3.2% better without VAT, a figure slightly ahead of market forecasts. Sales overall rose by 4.2%.Double loyalty card points cost it an extra £200m but helped maintain steadier growth than rivals, it said.In non-food sales in the UK, Tesco saw toys and clothing sales grow by 25% and 7% respectively, with sales of children's clothing up 15%.Asia powered forward with turnover up 19% to £9.1bn, though Europe sales dipped slightly to £10bn. US revenues rose by 58% to £354m at the Fresh and Easy branded stores in California, Arizona and Nevada.There was a first significant contribution from Tesco Bank, which chipped in profits of £250m on sales of £860m. Tesco said bad debts were higher but had now stabilised.