Associated British Foods, the owner of Primark discount clothes stores and the Silver Spoon sugar refiner, today posted a 5% rise in first-half profit but said economic conditions were difficult.
The food and retailing company said adjusted pre-tax profit was £282m sterling for the 24 weeks to March 1, up from £268m a year ago and compared with analysts' forecasts that ranged from £274-311m. Group revenue jumped 15% to £3.71 billion.
'These good results demonstrate that the group remains on track, with strong growth from Grocery, Ingredients and Agriculture and another excellent performance from Primark,' CEO George Weston said in the results statement.
The company said its businesses remained affected by economic uncertainty, with rising commodity prices and energy costs hitting consumers.
'We expect profit for the rest of the group to show progress in the second half, despite the difficult economic conditions,' the company added.
Meanwhile, Primark said yesterday that it is to open three new stores in Spain this week bringing its total number of stores to seven in the Spanish market.
The store openings will take place in the Ballonti shopping centre in Bilbao, the Islazul shopping centre in Madrid and the Buenavista shopping centre in Oviedo.
Primark, which trades in Ireland under the Penneys brand, employs in excess of 25,000 staff.
