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The boss of Tesco (TSCO.L) on Thursday hit back at the suggestion Britain’s biggest retailer is making excessive profits as consumers struggle with a cost of living crisis.
Consumer group Which? and trade union Unite were both critical of the retail profit of 2.49 billion pounds ($3.11 billion) Tesco made in its 2022-23 financial year.
Which said Tesco, which has a 27% share of Britain’s grocery market, should be working harder to make food more affordable for consumers while Unite accused Tesco of “rampant profiteering”.
How can it be that at a time when millions are struggling to feed their families Britain’s biggest supermarket is profiteering as never before,” Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said.
She was also critical of Tesco’s announcement it would buy back a further 750 million pounds of shares this year.
However, Tesco Chief Executive Ken Murphy said the supermarket group was doing a good job for consumers, with its inflation “dramatically below” the headline figure of over 17% reported by market researcher Kantar. He did not give a figure.
Shareholders have been very supportive, despite a meaningful increase in our top-line sales number, they have seen a significant fall in the profitability of the business,” he said.
“They would argue and we would argue very strenuously that we got the balance right this year in making sure that we were very competitive.”
SOURCE:REUTERS
