Tesco Sales Up 12 Percent in Q1 as Int'l. Business Grows

Tesco's non-food business saw "good market share gains and a resumption of like-for-like growth," while the core U.K. business delivered stable growth with like-for-like retail sales for the quarter up by 4.3 percent.

International sales increased by 20.1 percent at actual exchange rates. This included sales up by 1.9 percent in Europe and sales growth in Asia of 43.8 percent—helped by exchange rates and the performance from the converted Homever stores in Korea. In the U.S., sales grew by 174 percent in the period.

"We've made a solid start to the financial year, maintaining good momentum in a challenging economic climate—by investing in our offer for customers and adjusting our businesses well locally to meet their changing needs," says Terry Leahy, chief executive officer. "We are also keeping a strong