Tesco has revealed that its pre-tax profits plummeted by more than 50% over the past year, despite maintaining a strong sales performance during the cost-of-living crisis.

The supermarket giant's pre-tax profits dropped to £1bn for the year to February, down 50.8% from £2.033bn the previous year due to soaring inflation and costs.

Group sales excluding fuel edged up 5.3% to £57.6m. Tesco said sales volumes held up well despite cost-of-living pressures and further post-pandemic normalisation.

Tesco's retail operating profits slipped 6.1% to £2.49m driven down by market inflation and ongoing investment into its customer offer.

The Retail Gazette reported that the supermarket expects profits to remain flat for the current financial year.

Ken Murphy, Tesco's chief executive said: "It's been an incredibly tough year for many of our customers, and we have been determined to do everything we can to help.

"Our results reflect our continued investment in delivering great value and quality for our customers, whilst at the same time looking after our colleagues.

Tesco has invested over £450m into raising staff pay over the past year and in February, raised its rate to over £11 an hour.

"The resilience and agility that we have developed over the last few years have created a sustainable competitive advantage that leaves us well-placed to deal with any challenges that may arise.

"It has enabled us to deliver another strong performance across the Group, whilst continuing to make strategic progress."

The grocery store has lowered the price of milk for the first since 2020 and hundreds of other products to help consumers with the cost-of-living crisis.