UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced a 4% sales growth in the first half (H1) of fiscal 2024/2025, reaching £31.46bn compared with £30.4bn ($41.38bn) in the same period a year ago.

The retailer attributed the growth to its strategic investments in “value, quality and service”.

The company's total revenue for the period ending 24 August 2024 climbed to £34.77bn, marking a 3.3% increase at constant rates from £33.8bn in H1 2023/2024.

Tesco saw its adjusted operating profit increase by 15.8% at constant rates to £1.64bn in H1 2024/2025, compared with £1.42bn in the prior year.

This growth was largely fuelled by retail operations, including a £260m contribution from the Save to Invest programme, which outweighed the impact of additional investments in customer offerings and wages.

The retailer’s half-yearly statutory operating profit also climbed, improving by 13% year-on-year to £1.61bn.

Its adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) for H1 2024/2025 were 14.45p, a 23.7% increase from 11.68p in H1 2023/2024.

The company's net debt decreased slightly to £9.67bn at the end of H1 2024/2025, down from £9.88bn in the same period of the previous year.

During the first half, Tesco expanded its store count, opening 44 new stores across the group, including 26 in the UK, and 11 in Central Europe.

Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said: "We are in good shape, with volume growth delivering strong financial performance. This builds on our track record of delivery for all our stakeholders. Our strong momentum allows us to continue to focus on value, quality, innovation, and the broader customer experience whilst investing in growth opportunities in a disciplined, returns-focused way."

The company has revised its expectations, now forecasting around £2.9bn in retail adjusted operating profit for the 2024/2025 financial year, up from the previous estimate of at least £2.8bn.

It also anticipates generating retail free cash flow within the medium-term guidance range of £1.4bn to £1.8bn.

In August, Tesco introduced digital product passports for its F&F clothing range.