Tesco quarterly results bolster shares

The price of shares in FTSE 100 supermarket chain Tesco (LON:TSCO) rose by 1.50% to 229.80p (as of 14:05 BST) after it reported a 7.9% improvement in first quarter sales. Online sales were strong and the company has significantly ramped up capacity during the UK lockdown, with convenience outlets also seeing substantial growth.

CEO Dave Lewis commented: “Through a very challenging period for everyone, Tesco colleagues have gone above and beyond, and I’m extremely proud of what they’ve achieved. Their selfless efforts, combined with our embedded strategic advantages in stores and online, have helped to ensure that everyone can get the food they need in a safe environment.

“In just five weeks, we doubled our online capacity to help support our most vulnerable customers and transformed our stores with extensive social distancing measures so that everyone who was able to shop in store could do so safely.

“The costs of doing this have been significant and only partly offset by business rates relief and increased volume. We see the balance as an investment in supporting our customers at a time when they need it most“.