Tesco maintained its plan to pay a £5 billion (Dh22.6bn) special dividend in a rare bit of corporate good news as sales soar amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Britain’s largest grocer will push ahead with the payout even as other companies abandon dividends amid a nationwide lockdown.
Tesco experienced a 30 per cent surge in revenue as shoppers reacted with panic at the prospect of a nationwide lockdown in early March, stockpiling everything from toilet paper to pasta. Demand has now stabilised, Tesco said, and most of the rationing measures it had put in place are no longer necessary.
Stock levels have stabilised as a result, Tesco said on Wednesday. The company’s expenses are increasing though as it hires more staff to make up for absences.
The shares fell as much as 7.7 per cent on Wednesday morning in London.
Tesco has added more than 45,000 employees in the last two weeks alone to help cope with demand and cover staff absences due to Covid-19. Costs will rise by £650 million to £925m pounds as a result of increased wages and higher store running costs, Tesco said.
Chief executive Dave Lewis said Tesco is in a strong position to pay out a dividend and has thousands of small investors who hold less than 1,000 shares each and rely on the payout to help supplement their incomes. “We would not be paying a dividend if we felt it would jeopardise the business in any way.”
Tesco is also taking advantage of government help, including a year’s relief from business rates and a property tax, reducing its bill by £585m.
The company is only taking government help when needed, Mr Lewis said. For example, the retailer isn’t taking advantage of an offer to defer value added tax payments and is making its £200m payment on time.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
MATCH INFO
Serie A
Juventus v Fiorentina, Saturday, 8pm (UAE)
Match is on BeIN Sports
If you go...
Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
South Africa v India schedule
Tests: 1st Test Jan 5-9, Cape Town; 2nd Test Jan 13-17, Centurion; 3rd Test Jan 24-28, Johannesburg
ODIs: 1st ODI Feb 1, Durban; 2nd ODI Feb 4, Centurion; 3rd ODI Feb 7, Cape Town; 4th ODI Feb 10, Johannesburg; 5th ODI Feb 13, Port Elizabeth; 6th ODI Feb 16, Centurion
T20Is: 1st T20I Feb 18, Johannesburg; 2nd T20I Feb 21, Centurion; 3rd T20I Feb 24, Cape Town
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
