Primark owner Associated British Foods PLC (LSE:ABF) essentially issued a profit warning on Thursday, lowering the full-year outlook for its clothing retail chain.
For the year to September 2025, Primark is now expected to grow sales by low-single digits, down from the "mid-single digit" guidance issued at the FTSE 100 group's final results in November.
This is due to lower like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland in the autumn in what it called a "challenging retail environment", where the only growth came during the Christmas period.
For the 16 weeks to 4 January, total Primark sales across all geographies fell 0.4%, though if currency swings are ignored, they rose 1.9%.
Total group revenues fell 2.2% to £6.7 billion, with a 6% decline for sugar, 5.1% for agriculture, 1.8% for grocery and 1.6% for ingredients.
Growth in the full year is expected to be offset by 4% growth from rolling out more stores in Europe and the US.
"Despite the market conditions in the UK and Ireland, we remain confident in the Primark proposition and continue to focus on initiatives across product, digital and brand to drive underlying growth."
Adjusted operating profit margins are expected to remain broadly in line with last year's.
Guidance for all other group segments was left unchanged.