Tesco announces £2.55bn profit

Last Modified: 17 Apr 2007
By: Emily Reuben

The figures mean Tesco made £4,800 every minute between February 2006 and February 2007.

The supermarket revealed its like-for-like UK sales rose 5.6 per cent with sales reaching £35.6 billion across its 1,500 UK stores.

The figures have sparked protests from Friends of the Earth, which said the time had come to "curb the power of the Tesco juggernaut".

Campaigner Vicki Hird said: "The supermarket giant's market dominance is bad news as it allows it to dictate conditions to suppliers and to drive High Street stores out of existence."

The Competition Commission is also investigating the grocery sector amid claims that the larger stores are squeezing out smaller retailers.

Tesco's gathering strength in areas such as DVDs, clothing and household items was shown when it said its UK non-food business had grown sales by 11.6 per cent, despite a tougher domestic consumer environment.

The group's non-food sales reached £7.6bn - 25 per cent of UK sales in total.

The company saw strong growth of electronics, DIY, toys and sports goods from its larger Tesco Extra stores.

The firm's clothing range, which includes its £3 jeans, saw sales increase by 16 per cent.