LONDON – Britain’s biggest retailer, Tesco, today announced a sixfold surge in annual net profits after the supermarket giant exited Asian markets and was allowed to stay open during coronavirus lockdowns.
Profit after tax soared to £6.14 billion (RM34.97 billion) in the 12 months to the end of February from £971 million in 2019/20.
“While the pandemic is not yet over, we’re well-placed to build on the momentum in our business,” said chief executive Ken Murphy in the results statement.
“We have doubled the size of our online business and... we’re building a digital customer platform.”
As Covid-19 began to take hold in March last year, Tesco struck a deal to sell its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia to Thai conglomerate CP Group for £8 billion.
The transactions, agreed under previous CEO Dave Lewis, were aimed at slashing debt and streamlining the group, enabling a stronger focus on United Kingdom, Irish and central European activities. – AFP, April 14, 2021
