Associated British Foods’ (ABF) pre-tax profits have fallen 10% to £1.3bn, after a year plagued by tough trading in its sugar business.
Sales in sugar slumped 9% on constant currency terms, pushing overall revenues down 1% despite slim growth at Primark.
Group revenues came in at £19.6bn for the year to 12 September 2026, broadly in line with expectations.
ABF had warned earlier in the year of the difficult sugar market’s impact on its finances, as high European stockpiles suppressed prices. ABF expects difficulties to extend into 2027 thanks to El Niño’s effect on production in Africa and significantly higher gas costs.
Primark also suffered in the year, with like-for-like sales down 2.6% overall and growth coming largely from store expansion in Europe and the US. The retailer’s turnaround strategy is “more advanced” in the UK, where it gained market share with an 0.5% increase in like-for-like sales.
“Our results this year reflect a challenging operating environment and macroeconomic headwinds,” said ABF CEO, George Weston.
“We have focused on what we can control, taking targeted actions to drive performance while making good operational and strategic progress and continuing to invest in long-term growth.”
For Primark, that has meant cutting prices and “improving value perception”, as well as refreshing ranges and investing in marketing. In the UK, Primark has now implemented click & collect shopping after years without an Online shop, and will add home delivery in the future.
Weston added that weak performances in sugar and certain categories of product in the US had masked stronger business in ABF Foods.
“Multi-year capital projects completed in Grocery and Ingredients this year provide new capacity and capabilities to drive growth,” he said.
“The integration of Hovis is well underway and we expect to drive significant cost synergies to invest in marketing and innovation and create a sustainably profitable UK bakeries business.”
ABF’s separation of Primark from its foods business is on track to proceed as planned in December 2027.
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