This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29306444

The article has changed 16 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Tesco says it overstated profit forecast by £250m Tesco says it overstated profit forecast by £250m
(35 minutes later)
Tesco says it has overstated its expected profit for the half year by £250m. Tesco has launched an investigation after it found it had overstated its expected profit for the half year by £250m.
The supermarket chain said the mistake was mainly due to including some commercial income too early, as well as not including some costs. The supermarket chain said it was now working to establish the impact of the issue on its full-year results.
It has appointed Deloitte to independently investigate the issue. It had expected £1.1bn profit for the half year. It has appointed Deloitte to independently investigate the issue.
"We have uncovered a serious issue and have responded accordingly," said Tesco boss Dave Lewis. "We have uncovered a serious issue and responded accordingly," said Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis.
"I expect Tesco to operate with integrity and transparency and we will take decisive action as the results of the investigation become clear," Mr Lewis said. Mr Lewis, who took the helm at Tesco on 1 September, said he expected the group "to operate with integrity and transparency".
The supermarket group said it was now working to to establish the extent of the issues and what impact they would have on its full year results. "We will take decisive action as the results of the investigation become clear," he added.
It said the overstatement referred to its expected profits for the six months to 23 August. In a statement, Tesco said the overstatement was "principally due to the accelerated recognition of commercial income and delayed accrual of costs".
On 29 August, it said it expected profit for this period to be £1.1bn. It also said some of the error - referred to its expected profits for the six months to 23 August - was due to "in-year timing differences".
It said it would provide a further update at its interim results on 23 October. The error emerged when the firm was preparing its interim results.
It blamed some of the error on "in-year timing differences". It had originally planned to publish these on 1 October, but they have now been pushed back to 23 October.
Deloitte will carry out its investigation with Freshfields, the group's external legal advisers.
Profit warning
Shares in Tesco reached an 11-year low in August after the firm cut its full-year profit forecast to £2.4bn from £2.8bn.
The supermarket group has been battling falling sales and a decline in its market share as discount chains such as Aldi and Lidl have gained in popularity.
Previous chief executive Philip Clarke stood down in July after his attempts to revive Tesco's fortunes through a £1bn turnaround plan failed.
AvaTrade chief market analyst Naeem Aslam said Tesco had been "extremely slow" to respond to market changes. "Today's news is another disaster for the company," he added.