By Tapan Panchal
LONDON--Associated British Foods PLC (ABF.LN), a food and retail
group, Thursday reiterated its full year earnings expectations, as
it posted a 2% rise in revenue on constant currency rates for the
40 weeks ended June 20, compared with the same period a year
earlier.
The FTSE100-listed company in April said it expects a modest
decline in fiscal 2015 adjusted earnings per share due to the
strengthening of sterling against other major trading currencies
and the transactional impact of a weak euro on its Primark and
British Sugar divisions.
AB Foods, which owns Twinings tea, Kingsmill bread and Silver
Spoon sugar brand, said the full year impact of currency movements
is still expected to be around 25 million pounds ($38.50 million),
if current exchange rates persist.
The company said sales, at constant currency rates, at its
retail clothing unit Primark grew by 13% in the 40 week period due
to increased selling space and by very high sales densities in
stores opened in the last year. Primark sales on a like-for-like
basis in the last 16 weeks were in line with last year.
Write to Tapan Panchal at tapan.panchal@wsj.com