Primark owner Associated British Foods warned on Thursday that Downing Street’s nationwide lockdown measures would leave it without roughly £1.1bn-worth of sales in the first half of its financial year.
AB Foods expects Primark sales in the six months ending 27 February to be in the vicinity of £2.2bn and adjusted operating profits to be marginally above break-even due to the restrictions placed on the fast-fashion retailer in both the United Kingdom and across Europe.
However, as of Thursday, ABF said it had likely reopening dates for 233 stores, meaning that 83% of its retail selling space “should” be trading by 26 April by spring/summer, a period it expects to be “highly cash generative”.
The FTSE 100-listed firm forecast full-year revenue and profits in its grocery division to be ahead of both expectations and first half comparatives.
As far as Britain’s exit from the European Union was concerned, AB Foods stated that its businesses were “well prepared” for the end of the Brexit transition period and had seen “no material disruption” to its supply chains as a result.
As of 0900 GMT, AB Foods shares were up 0.98% at 2,461.0p.
