ABF: Pre Close Period Trading Update

London / UK. (abf) Food, ingredients and retail group Associated British Foods PLC (ABF) forecast strong increases in sales and profits for its half year results to the end of February. They will show a strong increase in revenue with growth achieved in all segments, the group announced in a «Pre Close Period Trading Update». Operating profit would «be substantially higher than in the corresponding period last year in all segments except agriculture, where trading last year benefited from unusually high volatility in commodity prices», the company said. Profit from sugar will be substantially ahead of last year driven by «an excellent performance in Europe and a welcome recovery in China». In agriculture, «UK feed revenues will be ahead in all sectors except sugar beet feed which has been affected by lower prices». Grocery profits in the first half «will be well ahead of last year, despite a charge of 19 million GBP for the manufacturing reorganisation at «Twinings». The yeast and bakery ingredients business «has traded well with a strong sales performance from yeast in Latin America and from technical ingredients across the Americas as a whole». And without a question the trading at ABF´s fashion stores Primark «has been strong and over Christmas was ahead of the expectations».