StockMarketWire.com - Supermarket chain Tesco said that chief executive David Lewis would stand down next summer, as it posted a 3.7% rise in first-half profit.

Lewis would be replaced by Walgreens Boots Alliance chief operating officer Ken Murphy.

Pre-tax profit for the six months through 24 August rose to £494m, up from £463m on-year.

Revenue rose 0.1% to £28.3bn and Tesco declared an interim dividend of 2.65p per share, up 59% on-year.

Lewis, who had led a turnaround of Tesco since he took the reins in 2014, said his decision to step down was a personal one.

'I believe that the tenure of the CEO should be a finite one and that now is the right time to pass the baton,' he said.

'Our turnaround is complete, we have delivered all the metrics we set for ourselves.'

His replacement, Murphy, was joint COO of Boots UK & Ireland before becoming executive vice president, chief commercial officer and president global brands at Walgreens Boots Alliance.

'It is with regret that I have accepted the resignation of Dave Lewis as group CEO of Tesco, who has decided that he wants to leave the business in the summer of 2020,' chairman John Allan said.

'Dave has done an outstanding job in rebuilding Tesco since 2014 and he continues to have unwavering support from the board.'

'Some time ago, however, he indicated to me that he was considering the best time to hand over to a successor.'

'His openness allowed me to begin a thorough and orderly process to identify a potential candidate to replace him.' Story provided by StockMarketWire.com