Shares in Tesco fell this morning (13 January) as the grocery retailer blamed the snow for its weaker performance in its key UK market.
Shares in the retailer were down 1.85% at 9:20 GMT as the retailer recorded a like-for-like sales increase of just 0.6% in the eight weeks to 8 January. Total UK sales for the period were up 4.2%, with the company seeing a “strong contribution” from new store openings, as sales from new space grew 3.6%.
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Commenting on its UK performance, CEO Sir Terry Leahy said: “Our performance remains solid but was hindered in the run up to the important Christmas trading period in the UK by the disruptive effects of the severe winter weather conditions.”
However, the retailer did record a stronger performance in its international operations, with the division booking 14.2% sales growth.
Sales grew 24.2% in its Asian division, with the company noting good like-for-like growth driven by particularly encouraging performances from Thailand and China.
In Europe, sales were up 5.6%, with like-for-like growth positive in every country and “similar to our Q3 performance”.
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By GlobalDataThe company said its Fresh & Easy division in the US “continues to perform well” with total sales up by 36.9%.
Tesco’s total sales were up 7.6% for the period.
Click here for Tesco’s full trading statement. Check back later for further insight into the retailer’s results.
