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10 January 2019 By Aimee Donnellan Follow @aimeedonnellan

Britain’s biggest grocer outsold rivals over a difficult Christmas period and fought off discounters like Lidl with cheaper offerings. Its operating margin targets are attainable even though Brexit-wary consumers are counting pennies. The company deserves a higher valuation.

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Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, on Jan. 10 reported UK sales rose 2.2 percent in the six weeks to Jan. 5 compared with a year earlier, saying that it had outperformed the market in food, clothing and general merchandise. Reuters’ analysts had forecast a rise of 1 to 1.5 percent.

Marks & Spencer said on Jan. 10 that UK clothing and homewares sales fell 2.4 percent in the 13 weeks to Dec. 29, its fiscal third quarter, compared with a year earlier. The company’s UK food sales fell 2.1 percent.

Shares in Tesco were up 1 percent at 214 pence at 0845 GMT on Jan. 10, while those in Marks & Spencer were up 0.8 percent at 280 pence.

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