The big four giant Tesco is expected to reveal two consecutive quarters of UK sales growth on Thursday for the first time in five years.
As the grocer continues with its turnaround strategy, City analysts have forecast like-for-like sales to be up 0.3% in the first quarter, following a 0.9% rise in the previous quarter. Tesco’s results and recovery are predicted to be on track.
“Tesco’s execution over the last 18 months has been ahead of all expectations. The expected message is ‘business as usual’, the recovery is fully on track and they are retaining the margin guidance” said Bruno Monteyne from Bernstein.
Tesco’s CEO Dave Lewis has engaged in a significant amount of strategic shedding of the business in the past two weeks. Tesco sold off its Giraffe restaurant chain and its Turkish operations. More recently, it sold Dobbies Garden Centres for £217m.
Tesco will post its results on the day of the EU referendum. Former Tesco Boss Terry Leahy has urged that we vote Remain in order to prevent food prices soaring.
” Food prices will go up if we vote for Brexit as the supply chain would be severely disrupted and we would be paying tariffs. Consumers are a big part of the recovery, and we should protect that recovery, not risk it” Leahy told the Press Association.
Competition is already increasingly high in the grocery market, with the recent launch of Amazon Fresh upping the stakes even further in the sector.
