Tesco Surges as Lewis Seeks to Restore Margins Amid Revival
- Shares rise as much as 11%, biggest gain since January 2015
- CEO aims to double margins over three years with cost savings
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Tesco Plc surged the most in almost two years as CEO Dave Lewis vowed to double the U.K. supermarket’s profit margins, helped by an additional 1.5 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) in cost cuts and more premium items.
The stock rose as much as 11 percent to 210.15 pence, the highest since August 2015, as Lewis set a target to widen the operating margin to between 3.5 percent and 4 percent by 2020. Tesco also reported first-half earnings that trounced estimates thanks to a third consecutive quarter of higher U.K. sales.