London: Tesco, the world's third-biggest retailer, said the global economy is recovering strongly and growth in emerging markets will help to prevent developed economies from falling back into recession.
The British group, which beat forecasts with a 14 per cent rise in first-half underlying profit, also said yesterday that it expected its loss-making US business Fresh & Easy to break even in 2012-13, ahead of some analysts' expectations.
Last results
"My starting point is the global economy, which is in a pretty robust recovery," Chief Executive Terry Leahy said, delivering his last set of results before handing over to international chief Phil Clarke in March.
When asked whether he thought developed markets like Britain might fall back into recession, Leahy said: "I don't think it will. If you look at the customer psychology and the pulling power of the developing markets, I think they will pull Europe and the United States into a stable and established recovery." Tesco, with over 4,800 stores in 14 countries, said profit before tax and one-off items rose to £1.79 billion (Dh9.9 billion) in the 26 weeks to August 28, helped by growth in Asia, productivity gains, property deals and lower interest costs. Trading profit met forecasts with a 9 per cent increase, though, and sales growth in Britain was sluggish.
