Primark owner Associated British Foods PLC (LSE:ABF) )ABF_has guided that its full-year profit should be higher after reporting jumps in both food and retail sales during the third quarter.
Operating profit should come in “moderately ahead of last year,” ABF said in a statement, up from previous guidance that the figure would be flat.
Earnings per share should “benefit” too from a lower-than-expected group effective tax rate, ABF added.
Total group sales came in 16% higher year-on-year at £4.7bn in the third quarter. Retail sales grew 13% to just shy of £2bn in the 12 weeks to May, with Primark’s “summer ranges performing well” as warmer weather hit Europe.
Like-for-like retail sales were up 7% meanwhile, as the company boosted volumes and benefitted from higher selling prices on the back of high inflation.
Sales across ABF’s food wing climbed too, with stronger trading among grocery, sugar, agriculture and ingredients pushing the figure up 18% to £2.7bn.
“We have seen strong constant currency sales growth in grocery and ingredients largely driven by the necessary pricing actions taken earlier in the year,” ABF said.
ABF’s British Sugar unit penned a 51% jump in sales revenue to £665mln meanwhile after the company moved to secure alternative sugar beet supply last year.
ABF also added that £319mln of its £500mln share buyback programme had now been completed.