Tesco Q1 like-for-like sales in UK decline by 1.3 percent

Group sales for the 13 weeks to May 30, 2015 at Tesco, declined by 0.5 percent at constant rates and 1 percent at actual rates, excluding fuel. Like-for-like sales performance for the combined UK and ROI business was 1.5 percent, an improvement on the previous quarter. UK like-for-like sales declined by 1.3 percent, an improvement on the decline of 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter. The contribution to total sales growth from net new stores reduced to 1 percent from 1.6 percent last quarter due to a significant reduction in new store openings in addition to the store closures announced in January and completed in April.

“We set out to serve our customers a little better every day and the improvements we are making are starting to have an effect. We are fixing the fundamentals of shopping to win back customers and relying less on short-term couponing. Whilst the market is still challenging and volatility is likely to remain a feature of short-term performance, these first quarter results represent another step in the right direction,” said Dave Lewis – Chief Executive of Tesco.

Tesco’s international like-for-like sales performance improved again this quarter. Despite external conditions remaining challenging, like-for-like sales in its two largest markets, Korea and Thailand, declined by just over 3 percent and 2 percent respectively. In Malaysia, an improving underlying trend was more than offset by the negative impact of the introduction of a ‘Goods and Services tax’ in April.

In Central Europe and Turkey, a sustained strong performance in the Czech Republic and a step up in performance in Slovakia contributed to continued positive like-for-like sales growth for the region as a whole. The introduction of new legislation in Hungary, including enforced Sunday closures has impacted business where it delivered like-for-like growth of 3 percent. Currency movements significantly impacted total sales at actual rates in the Republic of Ireland and in Central Europe and Turkey, largely offset by favourable currency movements in Asia.