Tesco profits top £1bn
Tesco is to create 20,000 jobs this year.
The company has confirmed its position as Britain's biggest grocer with full-year profits of more than £1bn.
Its sale were up 11.9% to £22.8bn and underlying profit before tax was up by 12% to £1.07bn.
The company also announced it was to create 20,000 jobs this year on top of the 240,000 people it already employs.
The dividend per share increased by 11.2% TO 4.98p
Tesco has been buoyed by strong sales of non-food items such as televisions, electronics and clothing.
It has also been given a boost by its growing international operations, where its stores in Hungary and Thailand have done well.
The supermarket's annual results come a day after Sainsbury's surprised the City with a 4.8% increase in like-for-like sales for the first three months of the year.
Terry Leahy, Tesco chief executive, says "This year the Tesco strategy has continued to deliver for the customer. All four parts of this strategy - a strong core UK business, non-food, retailing services and our international business - have contributed to these strong results.
"We made good progress on our long term transformation from a domestic to an international retailer and we achieved sales growth that is gaining momentum and delivering the fastest organic growth rate of any major international retailer."
