Tesco Sets Pre-Tax Loss Record In UK; Believes Future To Be Brighter

UK retailer Tesco announced it made the largest pre-tax loss, ₤6.4 billion or $9.6 billion, in the country's retail history. About ₤4.7 billion of this amount was caused by a drop in the property value of Tesco's UK stores. Profits plummeted 68 percent to ₤961 million, while overall sales dropped 1.8 percent, compared with the previous year. Opting to announce all the bad revenue news at one time, Tesco hopes it has reached rock bottom and is now on its way to corporate turnaround, CEO Dave Lewis said. Some developments seem to support Lewis' optimism: Tesco Bank is performing well and profits in Tesco's Asian operations declined by only 15 percent, compared with 79 percent in the UK.