Tesco.com sees profits up by 21%

Tesco.com has seen sales and profits rise by 20.5% and 21.4% respectively, as the retail giant posted positive half-year results.

Tesco saw an overall rise in profits of 11.3% to £1.435bn for the 26 weeks to 23 August, with revenues up by 13.8% to £25.6bn.

The company said Tesco.com continued to grow strongly, with sales hitting £902m and profits reaching £48m. Similarly, grocery orders were up by just over 10% to approximately 7.5m, while its overseas online operations also continued to grow.

Tesco also said Tesco Mobile was the "only major operator to grow its customer base in the first half" as it said its telecoms business has seen steady growth.

Tesco CEO Terry Leahy said the company was in a strong position despite the challenging economic climate: "Tesco is at its best in tough markets - responding to the changing needs of customers - and that's why we've been able to make good progress this year, despite facing into powerful economic headwinds and carrying planned start-up losses in the US."

"Our business is strong, broadly-based, increasingly international and, I believe, well-placed not just to cope with the challenges which lie ahead but also to grasp the growth opportunities open to us by continuing to invest in our strategy," he added.

Tesco and digital agency Conchango are currently in the process of overhauling Tesco.com, with the new site expected to be unveiled in the spring.

Published by: Will Cooper

Published 30th September, 2008

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