Associated British Foods
17% Primark sales rise for full year
The markets work in peculiar ways. Primark is now about half of Associated British Foods, in profit terms. Sales for the full year to September 13 are expected to be 17 per cent ahead of last year in constant currency rates, and 4.5 per cent in like-for-like terms.
The operating margin in the first half was 13.1 per cent, an improvement on the previous year. The second half saw some flattening of this performance because the spring was exceptionally strong, driven by the warm weather. But this was an outstanding result for any discount retailer at the mercy of volatile high street spending. That strong spring trading means that there is little surplus stock left