Tesco is one of the worlds leading international retailers. Since the company first the trading name of Tesco, in the mid 1920s, the group has expanded into different formats, different markets and different sectors. The UKs leading retailer Tesco was floated on the stock exchange in 1947 and in 1995 took over rival Sainsburys position as the UK number one. The principal activity of the group is food retailing, with over 2,000 stores worldwide. Tesco has a long term strategy for growth, based on four key parts: growth in the Core UK business, to expand by growing internationally, to be as strong in non-food as in food and to follow customers into new retailing services. The company launched a home shopping service in 2000, allowing customers to order their shopping online. Tesco is now expanding its convenience stores and overseas into areas such as Taiwan, Malaysia, Poland, the US and Ireland.

Upper graph = 12 month share price with 6 month moving average
Lower graph = 12 month volume (red line = volume average).

Short positions in Tesco are over four times the average compared to other FTSE 100 stocks. I have Never been convinced the turnaround is working.

"The SFO today charged three individuals, Carl Rogberg, 49, Christopher Bush, 50, and John Scouler, 48, with one count of Fraud by Abuse of Position, contrary to section 1 and 4 of the Fraud Act 2006 and one count of False Accounting contrary to s17 Theft Act 1968.

The alleged activity occurred between February 2014 and September 2014.

The above-named individuals have been requisitioned to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 22 September 2016.

The investigation into Tesco PLC remains ongoing."

Just wonder if the auditors will be involved, after all they have over seen the accounts and signed them off ?

Typically Auditors will claim they were given false figures, "Not me Gov" etc. - yet IF they have been doing "Additional Work" ( a common ploy to make dosh), they would have inside info. which they could not ignore when doing the AnAccounts - unless the s-c "Chinese Walls" are mighty thick.
Dir are well-paid to keep the ship afloat, profitable and in good nick for L-T shareholders, This fiasco is likely to RUN . . . and affect shareholders, so the sp must suffer in the Longer-term.
Add-in Market woes, price-cutting etc. and this Co needs a shake-up and new Maps for the next Captain at the Helm....
Yet I recall . . . . . . ( insert name ), were short of whisky ( was it? ) - the factory qty was short - yet Accs didn't bother to count. Indeed I vaguely recall they didn't visit the warehouse. As this was crucial to the Balance Sheet, you'd expect them to do this - rather like feeling the Thermos ( isn't light), before going on a Picnic. Agreed we rely on car Fuel-gauge yet if it doesn't move we'd check...

Perhaps a few in higher positions knew as well. Er scape goats comes to mind. :-))

Proactive investor - Should investors check out of titan Tesco?
Share
17:07 03 Oct 2016
According to one City heavyweight, the answer is a resounding yes.

Does Tesco offer anything extra to the investor?
Is it worth getting out of Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) ahead of its interim results statement?
Well according to one City heavyweight, the answer is a resounding yes.
The recent run up in the share price - around 25% since June - flatters the grocer.
READ - Week Ahead: Food price deflation a concern at Tesco
JP Morgan Cazenove, in a note previewing the figures this Wednesday (October 5), said pension worries and an overstretched balance sheet still haunt the group.
It also points out that consensus profit forecasts have been progressively pegged back over recent months.
This is to reflect a less than stellar performance from the core UK supermarket operation.
Remember, Tesco, J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY),  WM Morrison Supermarkets (LON:MRW) and Wal-Mart owned ASDA are under siege from German discounters Aldi and Lidl, which are making significant market share gains.
Sainsbury last week unveiled a 1.1% decline in underlying sales in the last quarter and received a drubbing on the day of the update.
Currently changing hands for 183p, JPM reckons the Tesco is worth 135p a share.
The broker remains ‘underweight’ on the stock and believes the market has become ‘overexcited’ so   far as Tesco is concerned, particularly given the difficult market backdrop.
As the sector’s 800 lb gorilla, Tesco should be better placed to use its muscle to resist erosion of its market share.
First quarter figures announced in June, at least showed the core UK business registering year-on-year growth in like-for-like sales.
Underlying sales rose 0.3%, with volumes up 2.2% and the number of transactions up 1.7%, which tells us that food price deflation remains a problem for supermarkets.
“Fierce price competition and promotions are likely to remain a squeeze on margins for some time and the revised strategy is going to take time to implement.
"Investors backing the new management will be hoping that the signs of improvement in the June results will, like the share price, have continued,” suggested analyst Graham Spooner at The Share Centre.
Meanwhile, rival Morrisons' recent half-year results showed the floundering chain’s decision to take the fight to the hard discounters was showing signs of working.

Pop.

As the old man used to say '' what's the profit lad''. To early to tell yet. Still a huge pension deficit.

Proactive investor

Is Tesco overvalued? City heavyweight says share needs to fall 20%
Share
15:43 06 Oct 2016
Tesco shares are trading at the higher end of an optimistic guidance, according to JP Morgan Cazenove.

JPM has an 'underweight' rating on Tesco, with a 135p target.
A heavyweight City broker reckons shares in Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) would have to fall by 20% before it represents decent value.
JP Morgan Cazenove, in a note to clients, made the call following the grocer’s interim results.
Detailed analysis revealed the quality of the earnings “beat” was “rather low”, it said.
“We separately believe [chief executive] Dave Lewis has set himself challenging targets in the context of a very difficult industry backdrop, where all the different moving parts are not within his own control,” the American bank added in a note to clients.
“We believe the shares price in the higher end of an optimistic guidance.”
JPMC reiterated its ‘underweight’ recommendation on the stock and its 135p a share valuation of the stock.
At 8.40am, Tesco was changing hands for 203p, down 2%.
On Wednesday Tesco said the all-important UK like-for-like revenues grew by 0.6% in the six months to August 27. That represented the third straight quarter of growth.
Volumes were up 2.1% and transactions were ahead 1.6%, which means Tesco cut prices to kick-start growth. In fact Tesco said prices had fallen 6% over the last two years.
The improvements leave the grocer “well placed” to achieve £1.2bn of operating profit for the full-year. In the six months the figure was £596mln on turnover of £24.4bn.
CEO Lewis and the team wants to rebuild operating margins to 3.5-4% by 2019/20 by implementing £1.5bn of further cost cuts.
"We have made further strong progress in the first half, with positive like-for-like sales growth across all parts of the group as we re-invest in our customer offer whilst rebuilding profitability in a sustainable way,” the Tesco boss added.
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Ian Lyall

Article is interesting. May be JPM on wrong side of the trade!!!!!!!

Shorts being gently squeezed.!!!!!!

i know the chart is good, but i really cannot get myself to even consider s'market stocks

Perhaps just a short lived rally. What about the 5.9 BILLION pension deficit ?

Yes its a conundrum. The FTSE 350 Food & Drug Retail Sector is one of the best performing overall recently.

A company should never be allowed to dip into a pension scheme or under pay, utter madness. The law needs changing. Mind you the Tesco deficit is just a drop in the ocean to BT's. I think it is 7bn.

Correction 14.2 billion pounds

I remember several years ago many companies including BT were taking pension 'holidays' because they were overfunded, now that they have deficits they should be topping them up. I realise this will have to be at the expense of shareholders (me included) but it is only right that it should be done.
2517

There are talks of of switching pension payments to the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation, rather than the higher Retail Prices Index rate. This will save a company billions AND COST RETIRING WORKERS BILLIONS.

52 week high.

Chart is looking good.

Even with the PENSION deficit.

News 6-Nov.2016 - "...Tesco bank hacked, customers claim to have lost money..."
IMHO it's unlikely this isn't true . . . however we don't really know the extent of the problem - fortunately Tesco close their banking system to prevent anything further - good for those that were not hacked, but not good if you need Money to return from a journey and can't buy fuel, etc.

Thank goodness the UK-Gov is to start ( a bit late, eh?) funding Anti-cyber-crime although it's anyone's guess if this will involve wallpaper and a defunct computer system . . . . meanwhile our youngest Hackers are being shipped off the USA to spend years behind bars ( I mean Prison -).
Oh dear.

Doesn't look good for TSCO sp - currently ( as of Friday) ~£2.02
So that's a default in TO, then a Pensions Issue and now a Hacking Bank - that's three by my counting . . . Do these events come (in 3's) like Profit warnings...or does the first item ( =A profit warning ) not count perhaps?
Maybe we should expect another Tesco failure any time soon . . . a bad Christmas period? . . . . no, that will be general amongst retailers - so Tesco can't count that.... we need some "Breakdown event" to really count as their No3.

Any TSCO predictions?

-Ditto - for sp say by week-4 =.January,2017?
=£1.55 for me...FWIW...