Primark owner expects 15% sales growth
The owner of Primark has said it expects its retail sales for the 2022-23 financial year to be 15% ahead of the previous year.
Associated British Foods (ABF), which also operates a number of agriculture and food brands, said it expects to reach sales of £9bn in the year to 16 September 2023.
This would represent a like-for-like sales increase of 9%.
ABF said sales growth had been driven by selective price increases, well received ranges and strongly performing new stores.
The group has also completed the rollout of its enhanced website, whilst its UK trial of click-and-collect has been extended to womenswear.
ABF has also made progress in the expansion of its international Primark estate, opening eight stores in the fourth quarter comprising four in the US and one each in France, Spain, Poland, and Romania. The group is also opening new stores in Salisbury and Mellila in North Africa.
At the end of the financial year, the retailer expects to be trading from 432 stores with 18.2 million sq ft of selling space.
ABF said the retailer is continuing to trade well, manage inflation, recover cash margin, and driving sales in a challenging macro-economic environment.
Over the 2023/24 financial year, Primark continues to expect a substantial recovery in gross margin as a result of lower material costs, the weakening of the US dollar against sterling and the euro, and lower freight costs, all of which have improved in recent weeks. ABF therefore expects Primark’s adjusted operating profit margin to recover strongly.