Tesco shares slump as poor results in Thailand and Poland affect UK business
But Tesco did well in a strong summer for Britain's overall grocery industry which was boosted by record hot weather, a royal wedding and the soccer World Cup
London — Weak trading in Thailand and Poland took the shine off accelerating sales growth in Tesco's main UK business, with shares in Britain's biggest retailer falling sharply after it missed first-half profit forecasts. The company, being rebuilt by CEO Dave Lewis following a 2014 accounting scandal, unsettled investors as problems abroad compounded fears that competition at home would intensify with the planned merger of its closest rivals.
The group, which stuck to its medium-term targets, reported underlying operating profit of £933m — up 24% on 2017 but short of the £978m analysts had expected. Profit fell 29.1% in Asia and by 3.3% in central Europe, partly offsetting growth of 47.6% in the UK and Ireland where it has benefited from its acquisition of wholesaler Booker in a £3.7bn deal. Shares in Tesco, up 12% this year prior to the update, fell 7.8% by 9.45am GMT, on course for the biggest one-day drop since July 2016. "I don't think the market had fully factored in the...
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