Tesco, the UK-based supermarket giant that employs over 11,000 people in the Republic, yesterday said that its first quarter sales were running ahead of expectations and indicated that it is planning further expansion in Europe and Asia.

In a quarterly trading statement, the company said that sales in its UK stores were up by 7.8 per cent on a year-to-year basis during the three months to the end of May. Analysts had expected it to grow sales by between 6 -7 per cent in Britain during that period.

International sales, to which Ireland contributes, were up 18 per cent year-on-year during the quarter, while overall sales were up 12.3 per cent.

Tesco publishes yearly figures detailing its Irish sales, but does not produce any quarterly information on its performance in this country.

The company said yesterday that it was planning to expand in the UK, Europe and Asia.

Its international business includes operations in Japan, Turkey and Hungary, and finance director, Mr Andrew Higginson said it was interested in entering the booming Chinese market. Tesco had sales of €2 billion in the Republic in the year to the end of February.

It plans to open seven new outlets here this year, including a flagship hypermarket on Dublin's Malahide Road.