Tesco full-year profit up 5.4 pct despite UK woes

LONDON

Tesco PLC, Britain's largest supermarket operator, has reported a 5.4 percent increase in full-year net profit, in line with market forecasts, despite a disappointing performance in its home market.

Tesco is embarking on a 1-billion-pound ($1.6 billion) program to revamp its U.K. stores while cutting back on expansion in the current year. At stores open for at least a year, Tesco sales in the U.K. excluding sales tax and gas fell by 0.9 percent during the year, including a 1.2 percent drop in the second half.

For the 52 weeks ending Feb. 25, Tesco on Wednesday reported an after-tax profit of 2.81 billion pounds, up from 2.67 billion pounds a year earlier. Revenue from continuing operations was up 6.8 percent to 64.5 billion pounds.