Tesco says price pressures easing as profits soar

Tesco has said price pressures on grocers have eased as it reported bumper sales and profits for the past year.

The UK's biggest supermarket chain said pre-tax profits hit £2.3bn, up from £882m, while sales rose by 4.4% to £68.2bn in the year to 24 February.

The company said price inflation in groceries had "lessened substantially".

However, its boss Ken Murphy said the firm was conscious "things were still difficult for many customers".

Tesco had "worked hard" to cut prices, he said, and "doubled down" on schemes aimed at offering shoppers better value for money, such as its Aldi Price Match offer and Clubcard promotions.

More than 4,000 products were cheaper at the end of the year than at the start, with an average price cut of about 12%, the firm said.

Global retail analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Charles Allen told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the company had done a "lot of work" to keep up with its rivals such as German discounters Aldi and Lidl.