LONDON — Tesco PLC posted a 14.1% gain in full-year net profits as hefty growth in parts of Asia offset more modest results in the United Kingdom and losses in the United States and China.

Tesco PLC posted a 14.1% gain in full-year net profits as hefty growth in parts of Asia offset more modest results in the United Kingdom and losses in the United States and China.

The supermarketer reported that net profit increased to 2.66 billion pounds ($4.33 billion) from 2.33 billion pounds in the preceding year.

Pretax profit, a figure closely watched by U.K. analysts, rose 11.3% to 3.54 billion pounds, beating market estimates of 3.45 billion pounds. Sales excluding the value-added tax rose 7.1% to 60.93 billion pounds.

New chief executive officer Philip Clarke acknowledged problems with the U.K.’s largest supermarket chain, which has trailed its British rivals’ same-store sales growth for some time.

"It’s not been a great year by our own standards," Clarke told reporters at a press conference.

He said the group’s apparel has not been fashionable and its home merchandise was “samey,” and he vowed to revitalize its nonfoods.

Tesco said some of its markets are benefiting from a global recovery, but in other areas, particularly the U.K., demand remains restrained. The chain’s strongest performance came from Asia, where trading profit, which excludes noncash and amortization items, grew almost 30% despite weaker than expected showings in Japan and China.