LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Associated British Foods said fourth quarter sales at its Primark stores rose 36% despite a hit from the surge in Covid Omicron cases, but were now showing signs of recovery as it maintained full-year group guidance.
Retail sales came in at £2.6bn on a constant currency basis with operating profit margin ahead of expectations.

"Looking ahead, we expect Primark sales from now to April to be significantly better than sales in the comparable period in the last financial year, when the estate was largely closed," the company said in a statement. It held guidance for "significant progress" in group adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share for the half and full year,

Compared with Christmas 2020 when Covid lockdowns were imposed in its major markets, AB Foods said all its Primark stores remained open throughout the period, except for short periods in Austria and the Netherlands.

The company, which owns sugar, grocery, ingredients and agricultural businesses said revenues across these divisions rose 6% on a constant currency basis, with sugar sales driven by strong European prices and the ingredients unit boosted by volume recovery.

All of AB Foods' divisions were being hit by inflationary pressures in raw materials, commodities, supply chain and energy, hitting margins in grocery and ingredients where price rises have lagged the effects of input cost inflation.

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