Page 1

Associated British Foods plc Trading update Released : 01 Jul 2021 07:00 RNS Number : 7462D Associated British Foods PLC 01 July 2021 1 July 2021 Associated British Foods plc today issues a trading update for the 40 weeks to 19 June 2021 which summarises the significant trading developments since the last market update . Trading performance The following table sets out revenues by business segment for the third quarter of our financial year and for the cumulative 40 weeks to 19 June 2021 and changes at constant currency² to comparable periods in the prior year . The third quarter is the 16 - week period from 28 February to 19 June 2021 . Grocery Sugar Agriculture Ingredients Retail Associated British Foods plc Trading update Total Third quarter constant fx £ m 871 406 391 376 1,605 3,649 -3 % + 21 % + 10 % + 3 % + 207 % + 47 % Year to date £ m 2,705 1,169 1,137 1,111 3,837 9,959 constant fx + 2 % + 7 % + 8 % + 2 % -11 % -2 % As expected Grocery revenues in the third quarter were lower than last year , with a decline of 3 % . Third quarter sales last year were very strongly ahead of the prior year , with an increase of 9 % , with much higher retail channel volumes as a consequence of the first lockdowns across our major markets . Sales in this quarter were 6 % higher than sales in the same pre - pandemic period two years ago . Sugar revenues in the quarter were significantly ahead , driven by strong volumes in Illovo and China and higher prices in Europe and Africa . Primark revenues reached £ 1.6bn in the third quarter with the reopening of all stores and the opening of seven new stores . These revenues were well ahead of last year's third quarter sales of £ 0.6bn , when the first lockdowns resulted in the closure of all our stores for an average period of 12 weeks . This quarter , sales in the reopened stores were ahead of expectation in all markets , a number of new sales records were 1 set and the like - for - like performance was much improved on earlier periods during this pandemic reflecting an increase in both confidence 1 and willingness to spend by our customers . Primark's like - for - like sales were 3 % up on a two - year basis in the quarter , but volatility remains high and performance varied region depending on the degree of restrictions related to COVID - 19 . Data for the total UK clothing market , which includes online sales , for the seven - week period after reopening shows both volume and value share gains for Primark on a two - year basis . Group cash generation in the quarter was both ahead of expectation and much stronger than in prior years . Net cash before lease liabilities³ the group increased from £ 705m at the beginning of the quarter to over £ 1.45bn at the end of the quarter . This improvement was mostly delivered by recovery in Primark sales along with a reduction in the inventories which had built up during lockdown . Assuming that no Primark for