Tesco sees profits fall for first time in 18 years

The supermarket giant, which shocked investors with its first profit warning in 20 years in January, prompting many to ditch the stock, has reported its first fall in profits since 1994. The group blamed the weakness on a slowdown in UK sales and the cost of a £1bn turnaround plan aiming to halt the decline. Pre-tax profits slumped by 11.6% to £1.7bn in the first half of 2012, which the group attributed to weaker sales in Europe and Asia. But the company's chief executive Philip Clarke, said he was "encouraged" by customer reaction to the firm's turnaround plan, known as ‘Build a B...