LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest retailerTesco said it expected tough trading to continue as itposted a 6 percent fall in annual profit, its second straightyear of decline.
The world's third-largest retailer said on Wednesday grouptrading profit for the year to February 22 was 3.3 billionpounds ($5.52 billion), in line with analysts' forecasts of 3.24billion pounds but down on the 3.45 billion posted in 2012-13.
Sales at British stores open over a year, excluding fuel andVAT sales tax, fell 3.0 percent in its fourth quarter, thesharpest quarterly drop recorded during Chief Executive PhilClarke's three year tenure.
The decline increases the heat on Clarke, two years into aturnaround plan which despite billions spent has failed to stopits core British market share slipping to a near 10 year lowunder pressure from hard discounters Aldi and Lidl and upmarketgrocers Waitrose and Marks & Spencer.
($1 = 0.5977 British Pounds) (Reporting by Neil Maidment; Editing by Kate Holton)