Primark owner lifts full-year outlook after 16% jump in sales

Sales in Primark grew by 13 per cent across its global stores, and by 6 per cent in the UK, compared to the same period last year. The uplift was helped by higher average selling prices for its products, the company said.

The retail giant now expects its adjusted operating profit for the full year to be slightly ahead of last year.

“The dominant driver of the current sales number is pricing, related to inflation through the system”, Eoin Tonge, AB Foods’ finance director, told the PA news agency.

He said volume growth – meaning the number of items that people put in their baskets – moderated in the latest quarter with adverse weather conditions causing volatility in the UK.

Sales in southern Europe and the Iberia region have done particularly well amid warmer weather, he said.

Mr Tonge added: “There is definitely signs of [inflation] easing up from a cost point of view, but it is still a very high inflationary environment and there is still quite a bit of volatility – for example, wheat prices have been moving around quite a lot over the last few weeks.

“And obviously labour inflation is very high and we see that maintaining.”

He said the environment is still “tough” but that consumers have proved to be resilient, and are continuing to hunt for value.

Primark, which has 191 stores in the UK and in 16 regions across the world, saw clothing and accessories, as well as health and beauty products, sell well during the period.

It also said shoppers have been flocking to its flagship city centre stores, with its summer range including linen clothing and boho styles flying off the shelves.

Nevertheless, AB Foods previously said that its group margin declined during the first half of its financial year as it did not pass through the entirety of cost inflation to consumers via price rises.

Earlier this month, Associated British Foods struck a deal to buy dairy technology firm National Milk Records for £48 million.

The firm said the deal would boost its agriculture-food arm, which works with more than 2,000 UK dairy farms as part of its global operations. AB Agri operates across 80 countries and employs more than 3,00 staff.

It supplies animal feed, supplements and specialist ingredients, as well as services and expertise to farmers, feed and food manufacturers and retailers.

AB Foods said adding National Milk Records’ expertise would help its agriculture arm to deliver a “better service to the dairy industry, initially in the UK, offering products that deliver increased value, efficiency and ultimately profitability for farmers”.

National Milk Records, which is listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange for smaller companies, provides milk recording and testing services, invoicing more than 3,000 farms every month.