Supermarket group Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, said Wednesday it returned to profit in its first half as it kept a lid on food price inflation. 

Net profit came in at £637 million ($846 million, 719 million euros) in the six months to late August, Tesco said in a statement. 

That compared with a loss after tax of £91 million in the first half of its 2015/16 financial year.

"We are continuing to make strong progress," chief executive Dave Lewis said of the turnaround, as the group also announced it would resume dividend payments to shareholders.