Tesco’s turnover increased in the first half of the financial year, sales in the Central European business also improved

According to the half-year trading data presented on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the department store chain’s group-level sales in the 26 weeks ended August 23 – calculated on a comparable sales area and product range – increased by 5.1 percent to 33.05 billion pounds (14,740 billion forints) year-on-year.

The turnover of Tesco stores in Central Europe was 2.1 billion pounds (937 billion forints) in the first half of the financial year, an increase of 3.4 percent on the same basis.

In the Central European area of ​​the store network, food sales increased by 4 percent, and fresh food sales within the category increased by 7 percent.

Tesco is present in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia within the Central European EU region, after selling its 301 stores in Poland to the Danish-based retail chain Salling three years ago in a cash transaction worth 181 million euros.

Tesco’s group-level adjusted operating profit rose by 1.6 percent to 1.674 billion pounds in the first half of this financial year.

The Central European business’s operating profit, however, fell by 11.2 percent to £44 million across the network, but the company cited targeted investments to “relieve increasing competitive pressure, particularly in Slovakia”, “continued regulatory pressure” and a decline in rental income. The latter factor was due to the company selling properties in regional shopping centres in the second half of last year, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

In its first-half report on sales and results on Thursday, Tesco raised its forecast for the full financial year, raising its previously forecast for adjusted group operating profit of between £2.7 billion and £3 billion to £2.9 billion and £3.1 billion for the 2025-2026 financial year.