Member Article

Primark revenues boost ABF Group results

Primark-owner Associated British Foods posted group revenue rises of 10% in its latest financial statement on Thursday.

In the 16 weeks up to January 5th, Primark generated revenue growth of 25% year-on-year, which the company said was down to weak trading in 2011.

Strong sales over the Christmas period boosted Primark’s performance, with an “extremely” active period for new store openings.

The budget retailer said selling space had gone up by 0.7m sq ft since the end of the financial year, with six new stores in Spain, four more in the UK and one in both Germany and the Netherlands as well as two new sites in Austria.

A newly refurbished Oxford Street flagship store in London, and the extension of Primark’s main Dublin store were also celebrated by the retailer.

Profit margins were reportedly higher that the same period last year as a result of lower cotton prices, and the group revealed a target to open a further 200,000 sq ft of space in 2013.

In a statement, ABF said: “Year to date trading for the group was ahead of our expectations driven by the outstanding performance from Primark, with the rest of the group performing in line.

“As previously indicated, the full year result for AB Sugar is expected to be lower than last year but we anticipate that this will be more than offset by growth at Primark and some recovery in Grocery.

“In light of the group’s current performance we now expect to make further progress in adjusted operating profit for the full year, with the improvement heavily weighted towards the first half.”

ABF’s revenues in its sugar division rose 12%, while agriculture was up 3% and revenues in the groceries and ingredients units remained level for the period.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .