LONDON (Reuters) – Wet weather in Britain hit fashion business Primark’s summer sales, but better performance elsewhere kept operating profits steady, owner Associated British Foods said on Thursday.
Shares in the group opened 4% lower on Thursday.
Primark, which has stores across Europe and in the United States, said underlying sales would fall by 2% in Britain in the six months to mid-September due to “challenging weather,” particularly in April and June.
Across Europe, excluding Britain, however it expected underlying sales growth of 0.9% for the six-month period.
Despite the difficulties in Britain, where it said it lost market share to online rivals as fewer people visited shops in wet conditions, full-year operating profits would be unchanged, with margins higher than last year due to lower material costs and freight costs.
The company forecast Primark’s full-year adjusted operating margin would be just over 11.5%.
“While the British weather was not in Primark’s favour this summer, robust growth in other markets and new store openings have driven good sales overall,” ABF’s Chief Executive George Weston said in a statement.
Looking to 2025, the company said it expected Primark to deliver good sales growth with an adjusted operating margin in line with this year’s level.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Barbara Lewis)