Tesco is weathering the global credit crunch well, today unveiling a 4.1 per cent increase in like-for-like sales in the UK, excluding gasoline, for the third quarter.

This is slightly higher than the four per cent predicted by retail analysts, and an improvement on the second-quarter results, when the wet summer took its toll and kept like-for-like sales for the retail giant at just 2.4 per cent.

The company continues to defy concerns about the impact of high interest rates and consumers tightening their purse strings.

Tesco reported an overall 11.8 per cent rise in revenue for the quarter ending November 24, driven by strong demand in its Asian businesses, where sales grew by 29 per cent.

“We’ve maintained pleasing progress during the third quarter,” said chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, adding that the retailer’s new Fresh & Easy banner in the US had so far been “very well received by customers”.

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