AB Foods 3Q 2019 3% Ahead at Constant Currency

By Adriano Marchese

Associated British Foods PLC (ABF.LN) said Thursday that group revenue in the first 40 weeks of fiscal 2019 was 3% ahead of the same period last year at constant currency.

At actual exchange rates, the Primark-owner said revenue grew 2% in the period to June 22 compared with last year's equivalent period.

In the third quarter, the grocery business generated revenue that was 1% ahead of last year.

Sugar revenue was in line with last year at this time, an improvement on the decline in sales in the first half of the year, the company said. It said it expects production for the 2019 and 2020 campaign to be at least what it produced last year, at 1.15 million metric tons.

The company's ingredients business generated revenue that was 5% ahead of last year.

The company said Primark like-for-like sales declined, held back by unseasonable weather in May. On a constant currency and actual exchange rate basis, sales were 4% ahead in the year-to-date. This was driven by an increase in selling space, it said, with an additional 0.5 million square feet of space in the third quarter with nine new stores.

It said that for the full year, it expects good profit growth in Primark, and on an underlying basis, in its grocery business as well. Full-year outlook for the group remains unchanged, with adjusted earnings per share expected to be in line with last year.

Write to Adriano Marchese at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 04, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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