Good morning: Tesco has nudged full-year profit forecasts a fraction lower alongside interim results this morning.
The UK’s largest supermarket chain says it now expects full-year headline profits of between £2.4 billion and £2.5 billion. In April, alongside full-year results, Tesco had guided for profit of between £2.4 billion and £2.6 billion.
Ken Murphy, chief executive, warned that “cost inflation remains significant” and that it was “too early to predict how customers will adapt”.
“Customers are seeking out the quality and value of our own-brand ranges as they work to make their money go further, whether they are switching from branded products, between categories or cutting back on eating out,” he said.
Pre-tax profit fell 63.9 per cent to £413 million, down from £1.14 billion,
