Given the cautious comments on current trading recently from high street peer Next, investors will once again be focusing on the performance of its Primark clothing stores when ABF unveils its full year results on Tuesday.
Back in September, AB Foods saw its shares fall after a pre-close season update as worries over cost pressures in its grocery business and expectations for currency tailwinds to reverse offset a raised its outlook for full year 2016/17 results thanks to a strong performance from its Primark.
The FTSE 100-listed firm said then that Primark had “experienced an even lower level of markdown” in the fourth quarter, helped by favourable weather, which further improved the group’s full year outlook.
It added that Primark's full year sales are expected to be 13% ahead of last year at constant currency, driven by increased retail selling space and like-for-like sales growth of 1%, while at actual exchange rates sales are expected to be ahead 20%.
But with Next predicting a 0.3% decline in full price sales of its own-brand items for the full year, around the mid-point of its September guidance, investors will be a little nervous about Primark’s performance.
Tuesday’s agenda:
Finals: Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF), Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB), Up Global Sourcing Holdings PLC (LON:UPGS)
Interims: Direct Line Insurance Group PLC (Q3) (LON:DLG), Carclo PLC (LON:CAR), First Derivatives PLC (LON:FDP)
Trading updates: Convatec Group PLC (Q3) (LON:CTEC), Hiscox Limited (LON:HSX), Tyman PLC (LON:TYMN)
Economic data: UK consumer credit