Supermarket chain Tesco experiences first-half loss

Britain's biggest retailer, supermarket group Tesco, said Wednesday it had fallen into a net loss during its first half, partly on costs linked to an accounting scandal. Losses after tax stood at 365 million pounds in the six months to the end of August, compared with a net profit of 6 million pounds during the corresponding period a year earlier, Tesco said in an earnings statement.

Tesco is seeking to overhaul its business after reporting the biggest annual loss in its near 100-year history of 5.74 billion pounds for the year to February. The company is also facing a fraud probe after a huge accounting scandal that saw it overstate profits by 263 million pounds owing to errors stretching back to before 2013. Tesco has additionally been hit by falling sales on fierce competition from low-price supermarket rivals Aldi and Lidl, restructuring charges and writedowns to its property portfolio.