US Edition Associated British Foods
845.5p +33.5p
Questor says Hold
Mrs Rooney was spotted with its bags. Denise Van Outen and Sienna Miller were also said to be fans of Primark.
But arguably the discount fashion chain's biggest afficiandos are the fund managers, who have seen what some copycat catwalk dresses have done to boring old Associated British Foods.
Primark has given the British Sugar and Twinings tea group a touch of earnings glam and Monday's pre-close trading statement did not disappoint.
Second-half sales at the clothing chain are up a stonking 9pc on a like-for-like basis, the kind of pretty figure other retailers would kill for during the downturn.
Primark was, in many respects, fashioned for a recession when knickers at £1 a go have even more appeal to shoppers.
Having cracked the UK market, Primark has set its sights on a repeat trick on the Continent and if the early signs from Spain are any indication, there's no reason why it might not pull it off. Well, one maybe – the looming retirement of Arthur Ryan, the publicity-shy, workaholic septuagenarian, who will be a hard act to follow.
Despite an expected fall in operating margins – partly because of the extra costs of the new UK distribution centre – Primark shows no signs of tripping up and should beat last year's £233m profits by about £20m.
So the question is whether the rest of AB Foods' disparate businesses can also deliver.
On the sugar front, the European Union has finally brought some sense to supply/demand imbalances, while the commodity's soaring price will lift AB Foods' Illovo subsidiary operating across Africa, where quotas do not apply. The loss-making Chinese market has been no fun at all, but AB Foods can see a recovery there even if it can't yet taste it.
Despite China, Panmure Gordon forecasts a rise in sugar profits from £153m to £181m this year and £261m next, driven by the €385m (£338m) acquisition of Spain's market leader Ebro.
The third big business – the grocery wing – is a mixed bag. ACH, the US owner of Mazola cooking oil, took a £20m first-half hit from messing up corn oil hedging contracts but has put that debacle behind it. Meanwhile, Twining tea, Silver Spoon and Allied Bakeries are performing well. They are all defensive brands, though questions remain whether AB Foods can drive consistent growth from them.
Better use of working capital has brought down debt, though analysts expect a non-cash pensions hit next year.
Panmure Gordon upgraded this year's earnings per share forecasts by 2pc to 56p but forecast pre-tax profits of £708m in 2010 to give a modest increase to 60p.
After Monday's share price bounce, forecasts for this year put the shares on a multiple of 15 times, yielding 2.4pc. Worth holding, but there's better value in Primark.