Supermarket chain Tesco has reported annual profits of more than £2bn, partly boosted by positive performance in its online channel.
The retailer posted pre-tax profits of £2.03bn, up 20.5 per cent on 2004. Overall turnover jumped 12.4 per cent to £37.1bn, of which £29.5bn was generated in the UK.
Tesco's online operation was one of the "substantial contributors" to the upbeat results, the company said, and the retailer is banking on accelerated growth in this part of the business.
Sales at tesco.com rose over 20 per cent in the first half of 2008 to £902m, and profit grew by 21 per cent on a comparable basis to £48m. Grocery orders rose by more than 10 per cent to over 7.5 million.
Next month, Tesco plans to open a second online order facility in Aylesford, which will fulfil online grocery orders for customers in most of Kent.
The first online store, in Croydon, saw an increase in like-for-like sales of 29 per cent in the first half of 2008, with weekly sales reaching the £1m mark.
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