First quarter sales upset UK retailer

LONDON - The Associated Press

A pedestrian walks past a Tesco store in London. Tesco, one of the world’s largest retailers, says its sales are down. REUTERS Photo

Tesco PLC, Britain’s biggest retailer, reports that its U.K. sales were down 1.1 percent in the first three months of the year.

The company said Monday that the decline in sales at stores open for at least a year followed a 1.2 percent gain in the fourth quarter. Although the sales figures were disappointing, analyst Philip Dorgan at Panmure Gordon says he believes Tesco has set the stage for progressive improvement in the home market.

Tesco says its sales outside Britain were up half a percent in the first quarter, including a 3.6 percent increase in the United States. The company did not release earnings figures in the trading update. Its shares were up 1.6 percent at 307.7 pence in early trading in London.