Associated British Foods released a trading update ahead of its financial year end on 13 September.
In the important retail division, Primark’s like-for-like (LFL) sales are expected to decline by 2% (consensus: -1%) over the second half. In the UK & Ireland, sales were flat despite the favourable weather. Sales growth remains “strong” in the US, while trading across Europe was weaker.
Grocery sales are expected to be flat over the second half (consensus: +2%), with underlying operating profits set to be “slightly below” prior group expectations due to one-off restructuring costs.
The Sugar division is expected to deliver an underlying operating loss of around £40mn, in line with market forecasts. Most of these losses relate to Vivergo, which is in the process of being shut down.
The shares fell 9.4% in early trading.
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