Primark sales and profits grow

Nov 3 2009 By nebusiness

Budget retail chain Primark today defied the bleak high street conditions to report an 8% rise in annual profits.

The retailer, which is part of grocery business Associated British Foods, grew sales by 20% to £2.3bn in the year to September 12, after opening 12 new stores and improving revenues on a like-for-like basis by 7%.

Primark achieved operating profits of £252m in the 12 month period - a performance described by AB Foods as "exceptional".

The chain - known for its super-cheap clothes long before the arrival of the credit crunch - has seen strong expansion in the UK and Spain in recent years.

It opened a new distribution centre at Thrapston, Northamptonshire, in order to support growth, which recently saw it open a new store in Bristol to replace one of the first Primark stores to open in the UK in 1974.

AB Foods, which also owns the brands Twinings, Ryvita and Kingsmill, posted underlying profits of £655m, an increase of 4% on a year earlier.