STORY: Tesco lifted its annual profit forecast on Thursday (October 3).

Britain's biggest supermarket group saw market share gains drive a 10% rise in the first half.

CEO Ken Murphy said Tesco's work to improve its value and the quality of its products and service had delivered.

He said it led to volume growth ahead of expectations in its first half to late August.

He added it gives the company great momentum going into Christmas.

Tesco said it expected retail adjusted operating profit of around $3.8 billion for its 2024/25 financial year.

That's up from a previous forecast, and an improvement on last year.

Its UK like-for-like sales rose 3.5% in its second quarter, largely due to inflation easing.

Tesco also benefited from its strategy of matching the prices of discounter Aldi on nearly 800 items.

The popularity of its Clubcard loyalty scheme, which allows lower prices for members, also helped.

Shares were up 3% after the update, taking gains this year to more than a quarter.