Annual profits at Associated British Foods, which owns Primark, grew by 10 per cent, the company said today.
For Primark, the company that operates the Penneys chain Ireland, profits were up more than 20 per cent to £87 million sterling (€127.2 million) in the 12 months to September 13th.
Associated British Foods said today despite difficult conditions it expects to see further growth.
The group reported pre-tax profits of £473 million (€691.7 million) for the year to September 13th, towards the top end of analyst forecasts that ranged from £461 million to £475 million.
The group announced a full-year dividend of 14.6 pence a share, up 10 per cent. ABF shares, 60 per cent held by the founding Weston family, have underperformed the FTSE 100 index by 15 per cent this year and the DJ Stoxx European food and beverage index by 5 per cent. They closed at 561-1/2 pence yesterday.
