Associated British Foods said today that strong growth at its Primark fashion stores and in its sugar operations led to a substantial rise in half-year adjusted earnings and it saw very good progress for the year.
The foods and retail group said trading at Primark was ahead of its expectations, driven by a strong performance from its 14 Spanish stores and an 8% rise in like-for-like sales.
The group, 55% owned by the family of its chief executive George Weston, has recently been investing heavily in many of its operations such as Primark and sugar, and analysts say this spending is now starting to boost returns.
It added that revenue was higher across all its businesses and operating profit was substantially higher in all of its divisions except for agriculture which had been boosted the previous year by the sharp rise in commodity prices.
Results from its 196 Primark stores were ahead of the group's expectations. It opened five new stores in its first-half and expects to unveil a further six in its second half. Primarks trades as Penneys here.
The group - which also markets Twining tea, Ovaltine drinks and Kingsmill bread - was giving its routine trading update ahead of its half-year end on February 27 and ahead of its half-year results on April 20.
