Tesco profits slump by a quarter

Tesco said its turnaround efforts were paying off with improved trading in the UK, but revealed the impact of tough overseas markets and the costs of its overhaul as group profits slumped by a quarter.

The supermarket giant revealed first half group pre-tax profits of £1.39 billion, down 24.5% year-on-year with currency effects stripped out after being hit by restructuring costs and steep profit falls across Europe and Asia.