The number one retailer's performance thrashed its rivals Sainsbury's and Morrisons who announced like-for-like sales were flat and down 0.4 per cent respectively for the Christmas period.
Tesco's growing non-food business was a key driver with performance at its 100 Extra hypermarkets particularly strong.
Total UK sales at Tesco grew by 12.1 per cent for the period while International sales were up by 16.1 per cent.
The retailer forecasted full-year results to be in line with current market expectations.
Analysts were unsurprisingly encouraged by Tesco's figures. Deutsche Bank said: 'This performance demonstrates the resilience of the Tesco offer. With management clearly willing to invest to drive sales, we can be confident that Tesco will defend itself well should the long-awaited recoveries at Sainsbury and Safeway ever emerge.'
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