Tesco today reported a slowdown in growth in its core British market in the half year, but total sales in its international business grew by 23.1 per cent.
The world's third largest retailer reported an underlying pretax profit of £1.317 billion (€1.89 billion) for the half, up 14.3 per cent from last year.
Its international business in 12 countries outside Britain, including Ireland, saw sales rose 23.1 per cent at constant exchange rates to £6.4 billion, helped by its fast opening programme in China, Malaysia and Thailand.
Tesco Ireland does not publish profit figures separately from its parent group.
Tesco proposed an interim dividend of 3.2 pence per share, up from 2.81p last year. Shares in Tesco closed at 435.5p last night, valuing the company at around £34.2 billion.