Booker, under Tesco, integrated a further 397 net new retail partners in the first half of this year, states Tesco in its interim report released today (3).
Booker retail partners are now total to 7,787 outlets across Premier, Londis, Budgens and Family Shopper.
Operating profit at the company, which also owns the Booker cash and carry business, rose 13 per cent to £1.61 billion in the six months to the end of August, up from £1.43 million over the same period last year.
Sales across the group grew by 3.5 per cent over the period to £31.5 billion and like-for-like sales rose by 2.9 per cent. However, Booker LFL sales dropped a little (1.9 per cent), reflecting a decline in the tobacco market.
Tesco said it had lowered prices across its everyday grocery lines as inflation continued to ease.
Commenting on the numbers, Ken Murphy, Chief Executive of Tesco, said, "We’ve been working really hard to offer our customers the best possible value, quality, and service and they are shopping more at Tesco as a result. We have lowered prices on thousands of lines, launched or improved over 860 products in partnership with our suppliers and growers, and our customer satisfaction scores continue to improve across a broad range of measures.
"The combination of price, quality and innovation means we are as competitive as we have ever been, and we have been the cheapest full-line grocer for nearly two years.
"Our strong UK and ROI market share gains across the last year demonstrate our continued momentum. I want to say a big thank you to all my Tesco colleagues for their hard work serving customers so well. As we approach the Christmas season, we are looking forward to sharing the quality of our festive food with customers, and can’t wait for them to taste it.
"We are in good shape, with volume growth delivering strong financial performance. This builds on our track record of delivery for all our stakeholders. Our strong momentum allows us to continue to focus on value, quality, innovation, and the broader customer experience, whilst investing in growth opportunities in a disciplined, returns-focused way.”
