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).

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/3-ftse-100-shares-week-130207026.html

Worth a read

Be interesting to see how the Asian/China side of the business is doing, as it had slowed in late 2012 with store expansion slowing. A very important market for Tesco.

Nar1 - its one of my bigger SIPP holdings ATM, its just made a triple top on the chart and

I thought I'd take a contrarian position - if by me going short the price goes higher, I won't be too upset.

Is Tesco Plc Back On The Rise?
Fool.co.ukBy Royston Wild | Fool.co.uk – 5 hours ago...



I am backing supermarket leviathan Tesco (Other OTC: TSCDY - news) to put the difficulties of the past 12 months behind it and return to growth in the medium term. Shares in the firm have risen 15% since the start of 2013, and I am expecting them to gain traction as its strategy to rebuild its British operations comes to fruition.

Sales rise in first quarter but still lag rivals

Latest data from research consultancy Nielsen released this week showed sales at Tesco rose 4% in the 12 weeks to 30 March versus the corresponding 2012 period. This was in huge part thanks to an early Easter period, which fell earlier than usual at the end of March.

Despite this sales improvement, Tesco's revenues increase still lagged that of its major supermarket rivals. J Sainsbury and Asda both saw sales increase 8.2% and 5% in the first three months, while Waitrose saw demand increase 13.9%. And Tesco also saw its UK market share slip to 28.3% from 28.6%.

However, Tesco's plan to refocus attention on the domestic market is still in its early stages, and the company has both the experience and firepower to drag itself back to the top of the British retail pile over the longer term. The supermarket hiking its television and press advertising expenditure by 41% to £6.6m during March, for example, outpacing the 24% hike across the grocery space to £32.9m and illustrating the resources it has at its disposal.

Earnings forecast to bounce back from this year

City analysts expect earnings per share for the year ending February 2013 -- results for which are due for release on Wednesday, 17 April -- to fall 17% to 31p. But earnings are expected to snap back from this year onwards, with growth of 6% to 33p pencilled in for this year before picking up speed; an 8% rise to 36p is forecast for 2015.

The supermarket is a popular pick among income investors owing to its generous dividend policy, and forecasters expect Tesco to keep the dividend stable at 14.8p for 2013 despite severe earnings pressure over the past year. And the firm is expected to hike the payout to 15.5p and 16.7p in 2014 and 2015 respectively, presenting a plump yield of 4.2% and 4.5% for these years. This compares with the 3.3% FTSE 100 (FTSE: ^FTSE - news) average yield.

Tesco currently trades on a P/E rating of 11.5 and 10.6 for 2014 and 2015 respectively, providing a decent discount to a prospective earnings multiple of 12.7 for the entire food and drug retailers space. I believe that the firm offers excellent value as earnings look set to bounce back and dividends head substantially northwards once again.

Further company comment can be found at www.fool.co.uk.

> Royston does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares in Tesco.

Tesco's year-old revamp weaned on fresh food focus

(Reuters) - After a decade pushing its non-food business, Tesco (TSCO.L), Britain's biggest retailer is changing, and a conspicuous focus on fresh produce greets shoppers at its newly styled superstores.

"Customers were saying they felt we didn't have the right products in our shop," said Kiran Sudan, store manager at the recently refurbished Kensington superstore in west London, whose catchment area is a multi-cultural mishmash of affluent dwellings and social housing.

An interesting read before the Tesco results.

Fresh & Easy failure: Can UK firms make it in the US?

Aspiring actors, tourists, mothers and office workers are packing the Hollywood Fresh & Easy supermarket, shopping for a quick sushi lunch, a post-workout protein fix, or their weekly grocery stop.

It doesn't look like a business in turmoil and many regular customers are surprised to hear that the store could close.

Final Results

HIGHLIGHTS

· £3.5bn trading profit - year-on-year performance largely reflects UK reinvestment

· Final dividend maintained at 10.13p, giving full-year dividend of 14.76p

· Good progress in the UK, delivering improved results - for customers and for Tesco

· Strong online performance: Group sales of over £3bn for the first time - up 13%

· Confirming exit from the United States - process well-advanced

· F+F brand clothing sales now exceed £1bn in UK alone, with +9% LFL sales growth

· Clear approach to future growth, capital expenditure, returns and cash, providing clarity for shareholders

Profit down 1.9bn

No dates on divi payment ?

Its in the update!!!

"The Board has approved a maintained final dividend of 10.13p per share, giving a full year dividend of 14.76p, demonstrating our confidence that the steps we have taken in 2012/13 will set the Group on track to resume growth in 2013/14 and beyond. The final dividend will be paid on 5 July 2013 to shareholders on the Register of Members at the close of business on 26 April 2013."

Cheers Skinny

So why are the shares being ditched, why not hold til 26th? Am I missing something here? Polite answers only please.

I prefer shopping in Lidls these days.

Espirito Santo Execution Noble Sell 370.55 310.00 310.00 Reiterates

must be over their sell by date!

Thanks Skinny and everyone. Now I understand :-0

Shore Capital Buy 375.58 - - Reiterates

Prime Markets Buy 371.53 389.00 389.00 Reiterates

Credit Suisse Outperform 371.53 430.00 430.00 Reiterates

Thanks Skinny for figures, bit more encouraging as I'm holding out for divi.
P.S. Are you really skinny?

Not as skinny as I was when the nickname was bestowed on me @50 years ago - but still relatively 'lean'!

I've put a stop in to take a minimum 12 points from an overnight short - a splash in the ocean compared to my SIPPed position however.