Associated British Foods is hoping for a sweeter end to the year
Associated British Foods – Q4 trading statement, Thursday 10 September Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown
“Associated British Foods reports its fourth-quarter trading update next week, with performance expected to remain relatively underwhelming. The key Primark business is forecast to deliver around 2% sales growth in the second half, despite a challenging retail environment, particularly for low-income consumers across the UK and Europe. This comes as continued like-for-like declines in its existing stores are expected to be offset by momentum in the US and growth from new store openings.
The sugar division remains a key watchpoint. Earlier this year, profitability came under pressure due to oversupply in Europe and rising energy costs. Alongside softer-than-expected trading at Primark, full-year underlying operating profit guidance has already been downgraded to below last year’s £1.7bn, while market forecasts are closer to £1.5bn. But sugar prices have surged over the past month. With another month to go before year-end, investors will be looking for signs that the recent price improvement is feeding through to trading and whether it’s expected to continue into the new year.”
Among those currently scheduled to release results next week:
7 September | |
|---|---|
Ashmore Group | Full Year Results |
Gamma Communications | Half Year Results |
Standard Life | Half Year Results |
8 September | |
|---|---|
Computacenter | Half Year Results |
Dunelm Group | Full Year Results |
Funding Circle Holdings | Half Year Results |
Johnson Service Group | Half Year Results |
9 September | |
|---|---|
Energean | Half Year Results |
Spire Healthcare Group | Half Year Results |
WAG Payment Solutions | Half Year Results |
10 September | |
|---|---|
Associated British Foods* | Q4 Trading Statement |
Currys | Trading Statement |
Genus | Full Year Results |
International Public Partnerships | Half Year Results |
Oakley Capital Investments | Half Year Results |
Playtech | Half Year Results |
TSMC | Monthly Sales Release |
11 September | |
|---|---|
Trainline | Half Year Trading Statement |
* Events on which we will be updating investors
Notes to Editors
HL is the UK’s largest investment and savings platform for private investors and more than 2.2 million clients trust us with £205 billion (as of June 2026).
We help Britain build wealth, with confidence. Our promise is simple: to provide the best products, the best support and the best value. Founded in 1981, we’ve been helping people save and invest for a better financial future for more than four decades. We offer a lifelong, secure home for our clients’ investments and savings, combining great value with outstanding service, to make managing your money easier at every stage of life.
Our award-winning Savings & Resilience Barometer measures the nation’s financial resilience across our 5 to Thrive pillars, equipping people with the tools they need to strengthen their financial futures.
Saving and investing is for the whole family, and to support intergenerational wealth transfer, we’ve removed all platform charges and share dealing fees on our Junior ISA, meaning kids go free, and we’ve reduced the platform fee on our Lifetime ISA to 0.25%, supporting those savings for their first home or for retirement.
Regular saving into all funds, FTSE 350 shares, and selected investment trusts and ETFs is free.
Our clients also have access to the most comprehensive pension and retirement solution, including SIPP accounts, SIPP Income Drawdown, UFPLS payments and annuities, as well as over 14,000 investment options across funds, shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds and gilts.
HL Active Savings is the UK's largest retail cash savings platform that lets savers easily make more of their money and the HL Cash ISA allows savers to manage their Cash ISA portfolio across multiple banks, all within one account.