Primark mania makes sweet profit for ABF
Associated British Foods (ABF) has revealed boosted half-year profits, largely helped by sales of sugar and Primark clothing.Pre-tax profit for the firm was up by five per cent to £268 million, a figure ABF notes was significantly contributed to by the rapid rollout of new Primark stores â€" the budget fashion shops contributed a massive £200 million of additional sales.In the past six months 23 new Primark stores have been opened around the country, adding 0.9 million square foot of selling space. However the firm is continuing to look to expand by identifying new sites in all countries where Primark operates, Sugar sales were also key to the boosted profits, the company stressed. Following ABF's acquisition of Illovo, the firm's "sugar activities now extend to 24 plants operating in nine countries in three continents". "This is a good set of results. The satisfactory growth in revenue and operating profit in the first half reflects the substantial investment made by the group in capital and acquisitions last year," George Weston, chief executive, said."The advances made by Primark and sugar are the beginning of the benefits we expect from this investment and represent a significant development for these businesses."
Share this..
Related stories
Recession 'virgins' unprepared for downturn
Many young Britons hooked on cheap credit and will struggle if the economy goes into recession, Fool.co.uk warned yesterday.For its Recession Veterans vs Recession Virgins survey, two groups were questioned by the financial website.One one hand, older people who had previously faced recessions, on the other, younger spenders who have only known economic growth.Generally, when an economy slows, che...
Read MoreIs The Worst Yet To Come For UK Business Plc?
A report by BDO Stoy Hayward has cast a very large shadow over the UK business market with the company forecasting a significant rise in UK company insolvencies over the next two years. Only two months ago they had been predicting an 11% rise in insolvencies over the next two years, but that has now been increased to 18%. As more and more businesses admit to trading and financial difficulties, m...
Read MoreCould inflation kill any potential worldwide economic upturn?
Today's news that the US authorities are set to inject more capital into the US business arena in an attempt to shore up the wavering US economy is a body blow for those hoping that the US would lead the way. This comes just hours after severe warnings that inflation, both in the UK and around the world, could spring back to life due to a number of factors including the price of oil and the price...
Read MoreMortgages continue record run
Britain's mortgage lending notched up another monthly record in March, new figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal.After monthly records in January and February, March continued 2007's record-breaking performance with £31.3 billion lent in mortgages last month.That represents a 22 per cent increase from February's figure of £24.6 billion, which was lower because of seasonal shi...
Read MoreIs Germany about to cut Greece adrift?
Amid signs that the German economy is coming under intense pressure with zero growth in the final quarter of 2009, against growth of 0.7% in the third quarter, there are concerns that the German authorities are unwilling or unable to commit to a rescue package for the Greek government. After apparently doing all they could to calm nerves in the region the German authorities led Euro leaders in iss...
Read More