Primark owner profits jump despite early summer washout

Primark owner ABF (Associated British Foods) has reported a jump in profits despite a wet summer dampening sales of swimwear and holiday clothes.

The owner of the fast fashion brand reported a 43% rise in profits before tax, reaching £1.9bn over the year to 14 September.

It said “challenging weather” had hit the number of people visiting its shops between April and June.

It comes as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) suggested that shoppers were holding back on spending on bigger-ticket items until the “Black Friday” sales.

Overall, Primark sales across the UK and Ireland grew by 0.7%, stripping out the effect of new shops opening.

Its owners also said they were hopeful that sales would rise for the low-cost brand towards the end of the year.

While sales of summer shoe styles were washed out by wetter weather, “we had a very encouraging start to sales of our Autumn/Winter ranges,” it said.

The British retailer said it saw a strong performance across its key growth markets, including in the US, France, Spain, Italy and Central and Eastern Europe.

Primark saw a 6% growth in sales overall and noted that collaborations with famous faces like Rita Ora had helped, as well as strong sales of shirts and leisurewear items for men.

It comes as the British Retail Consortium said total retail sales increased by 0.6% year-on-year in October, a drop against 2.6% seen in October 2023.

Its boss Helen Dickinson OBE said that the figures were “disappointing”.

“This was part driven by half-term falling a week later this year, depressing the October figures, and November sales will likely see more of a boost,” she said.

Ms Dickinson suggested that the Budget and rising energy bills might have “spooked some consumers” and blamed more mild weather recently for delaying winter purchases of items like coats and jackets.