Tesco’s annual profit rebounds

British retail king Tesco rebounded into annual net profit on strong sales and restructuring, the group said Wednesday, as its recovery continued after a costly accounting scandal the prior year.

The supermarket giant revealed in statement that earnings after taxation rebounded sharply to £1.2 billion in 2017/2018 financial year to February. That contrasted with a net loss of £40 million in 2016/2017.

Excluding exceptional items, operating or underlying profit jumped 28 percent to £1.6 billion, in line with company forecasts and after a major restructuring overseen by chief executive Dave Lewis.

Total sales grew almost three percent to £57.5 billion despite tough times in Britain, where high inflation has eroded consumers' purchasing power.