Tesco enjoys 12.5% jump in profit Review

Supermarket giant Tesco has reported half-year pre-tax profits of £1.6bn.

The figure, for the six months to 28 August, was up 12.5% on the same period a year earlier.

The company said UK sales growth was "modest" - citing low food price inflation and higher fuel costs meaning customers spent more at the pump instead of in store.

But chief executive Sir Terry Leahy added the firm was experiencing "the tailwinds of recovery".

Tesco, the world's third largest retailer, said the firm's Asian markets were "emerging strongly" from recession, with profits rising 30%.

In the UK, economic recovery was slow, Sir Terry said, but added it had coped well with "subdued demand".

For the company as a whole, sales grew by 8.3% to £32.9bn. It said that when exchange rate fluctuations were stripped out, sales rose by 6.4%, or 5.5% without fuel sales.