UK's Tesco's Q3 2024-25 retail sales rise 2.8% YoY, Christmas up 3.8%

For the 19-week period, i.e, covering Q3 (13 weeks to November 23, 2024) and the Christmas period (6 weeks to January 4, 2025), total retail sales grew by 3.1 per cent YoY. In the UK and Ireland, sales increased by 3.1 per cent, with the UK achieving a 3.9 per cent rise and Ireland growing by 4.4 per cent, Tesco said in a press release.

Booker, a subsidiary of Tesco, experienced a decline of 1.3 per cent YoY in the 19-week period, despite a 1.4 per cent growth during Christmas. Central Europe saw a strong performance, with sales up by 3.5 per cent.

“I am very proud of the entire Tesco team and the way we served customers this Christmas. We invested to bring the best value, quality and service to everyone, no matter how or where they shopped with us. As a result, we delivered our biggest ever Christmas, with continued market share growth and switching gains,” Ken Murphy, chief executive at Tesco.

“Our strong performance reflects the investments we have made, positioning Tesco as the UK’s cheapest full-line grocer for over two years, improving quality across all our ranges, with more than half of this year’s Christmas range new or improved, and providing the best experience for our customers in-store and online, supported by an extra 28,000 colleagues over the Christmas period,” added Murphy.

Outlook

For the 2024-25 financial year, Tesco expects to deliver retail adjusted operating profit of around £2.9 billion (~$3.6 billion). In addition, the company expects retail free cash flow within its medium-term guidance range of £1.4 billion-1.8 billion ($1.708-$2.196 billion) and adjusted operating profit contribution from the retained Tesco Bank business of around £120 million.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (SG)