Tesco Ireland is on course to top 100 stores in the next 12 months, with a series of new openings past the planning stage. The Irish operations, the market leader in food retailing, yesterday reported sales of just under €2.5bn for the year to the end of February, an increase of 16pc on the previous year.

The group does not give a profit figure for its Irish operations, arguing that to do so would put it at an unfair disadvantage to the other major grocers - Dunnes, SuperValu and Superquinn - none of which disclose their retail profits.

The company said all divisions grew sales but that particularly strong growth was recorded in non-food sectors such as clothing, hardware and home entertainment. The group currently operates 93 stores and eight petrol stations in this country.

Last year, it added 110,000 sq ft of retailing space and expects to add 260,000 sq ft this year through the opening of as many as seven new outlets, all outside Dublin. Expansion is not unique to Tesco - both Dunnes and SuperValu/Centra are also opening new stores to keep up to speed in the sector. A spokesman said there was "no shortage" of new locations for Tesco to expand into.

Tesco claimed its share of the retail petrol market was now 5pc, an amazing statistic considering that it only has eight forecourts and that three of these filling stations opened during the year. It is arguably a measure of the group's competitive pricing, which the spokesman stressed was not being used as a loss leader to entice custom to its stores. "We are profitable in this area," he said.

Tesco Ireland's online grocery sales rose 24pc to €18.8m, while its personal finance arm is small but growing, with 26,000 credit cards and 2,600 car insurance policies in issue. The Irish unit accounted for about 4pc of Tesco group's worldwide sales, which topped the £42bn mark in the latest year.

Despite falling prices and a resurgence by its rivals, Tesco managed to report annual profits of £2.21bn, a record and up 17pc on a year earlier. London stockbroker Seymour Pierce greeted the results with satisfaction. "We are happy with Tesco," it said. Even so, the share price fell back one per cent to 325.25p in London yesterday.

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