𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Supermarket giant Tesco has revealed a weaker-than-expected increase in sales for the past three months amid “uncertainty” linked to the Middle East crisis.

The retailer revealed that total sales increased by 1% to £16.8 billion over the 13 weeks to May 30, compared with a year earlier.

Tesco UK and ROI (Republic of Ireland) saw like-for-like sales grow by 1.8% on the back of positive growth in food sales.

Nevertheless, it represented a slowdown in growth compared with the prior quarter.

The grocery firm said food sales were 2.6% higher, with 3.6% growth for fresh food and a 9% jump across its Finest range of products.

The group held firm on its profit guidance for the year, indicating that it is set to deliver operating profits of between £3 billion and £3.3 billion.

Ken Murphy, chief executive, said: “I am pleased with our progress in the first quarter, with customer satisfaction up strongly and continued sales growth building on the exceptional performance we delivered last year.

“With the conflict in the Middle East creating ongoing uncertainty for many households, we remain focused on giving customers the very best combination of price, quality and service.”