Tesco said it recorded a 4.4% rise in like-for-like sales in Ireland over the past three months on the back of easing inflation.
In a Q1 trading update, the supermarket giant maintained its profit guidance for the year as it recorded a similar rise in sales in its home UK market and reported an increase in market share.
Tesco reported sales of £14.3bn (€17bn) in the three months to the end of May, £731m (€868) of this was recorded in the Republic of Ireland. The company said the past three months was the fourth consecutive quarter of volume growth in Ireland.
Tesco operates 175 stores in Ireland, and said the past quarter saw growth in all channels with food sales up 5.1%, with fresh food volumes particularly strong.
Tesco Chief Executive, Cork man Ken Murphy said they saw strong volume growth across the UK, Republic of Ireland and Central Europe supported by easing inflation. “Following another strong quarter, we’re pleased to reiterate our guidance for the full year, with sales trends in line with our expectations and the business well-positioned for the months ahead,” he said.
Tesco Ireland’s interim CEO Geoff Byrne said they were pleased with the strong performance of the business during the first quarter.
“We grew our store footprint to 175 stores during this quarter and saw a strong performance in our online grocery home shopping business,” he said.