ABF Associated British Foods Plc

By Adriano Marchese

Associated British Foods PLC (ABF.LN) reported virtually in-line earnings for the first half of fiscal 2019, with good Primark sales offset by the sugar business.

PRETAX PROFIT: AB Foods' pretax profit was 515 million pounds ($667.8 million) in the six months ended March 2, compared with GBP603 million this time last year.

ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE: The company's preferred metric which strips out exceptional and other one off-items, was 61.1 pence. The company forecast that it would be broadly in line with the 61.3 pence of the same period last year.

REVENUE: Revenue for the period rose 1.5% to GBP7.53 billion, compared with an estimate of GBP7.58 billion, taken from three analysts forecasts on FactSet.

WHAT WE WATCHED:

-PRIMARK: Primark's total sales rose 4.4% as it boosted selling space. On a like-for-like basis U.K. sales rose 0.6% in the period but eurozone sales fell 3.2%. The fall in the eurozone was mainly to a decline in the German market which suffered from high spacing costs and a weaker reputation.

-SUGAR: AB Sugar's adjusted operating profit was GBP1 million compared with GBP106 million for the same period last year, due to production shortages and higher spot prices. The figure was in line with the board's expectations. ABF said it expects profitability to improve.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 24, 2019 10:23 ET (14:23 GMT)

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