Tesco warns coronavirus costs could top $1 billion

Britain's biggest retailer Tesco has estimated that the lockdown will cost the firm up to 925 million pounds, the equivalent of 1.1 billion U.S. dollars.

On Wednesday (April 8) it said that it wouldn't be able to give a profit guidance for the current financial year, but a loss was likely.

And Chief Executive Dave Lewis said Tesco was justified in accepting 585 million pounds of business rates relief from UK taxpayers, while still paying investors a final dividend totalling 635 million pounds.

Tesco was among the beneficiaries as Britain's supermarkets experienced in a surge in panic buying last month.

Shoppers emptied shelves of goods such as toilet roll and pasta ahead of a national lockdown.

UK grocery sales leapt more than a fifth to a record 10.8 billion pounds in the four weeks to March 22.

But while Tesco enjoyed a boost in sales, the crisis has come with added costs.

Social distancing measures have restricted the number of shoppers in store at any one time.

The expansion of online delivery operations has also proved costly, as have staff bonuses and hiring more employees.

In the last two weeks alone, Tesco has recruited more than 45,000 workers in the UK to help cover staff sickness and cope with additional demand.

The company expects extra costs to now be between 650 and 925 million pounds.