Penneys owner sees festive sales rise after warm autumn weather hit

Penneys owner Associated British Foods posted a rise in sales at its Primark stores over the Christmas quarter as higher prices helped it overcome a hit from warm autumn weather.

AB Foods said Primark, which trades as Penneys in the Republic, saw sales grow 2.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the 16 weeks to January 6th, with total revenues at the retailer up 7.9 per cent.

It said strong growth in the run-up to Christmas helped offset a knock from unusually warm autumn weather at the start of the quarter.

The group said the Primark sales rise was driven by higher average selling prices as well as strong demand for Christmas ranges and lines such as its collection designed in collaboration with singer Rita Ora.

It said it did not expect “significant disruption” from the Red Sea shipping attacks, despite many rivals flagging worries over stock delays and cost hikes.

AB Foods said: “We continue to monitor the situation in the Red Sea but at this stage we do not expect any significant disruption to our supply chain.”

It said improvements in profitability across the Primark business “should insulate us well against potential additional costs of supply due to the disruption in the Red Sea should they arise”.

Trading elsewhere in Europe was more patchy for the retailer as like-for-like sales edged up 1.3 per cent, with sales in some countries impacted by local economic woes and strong trading from a year ago.

It said new store openings helped boost its performance in the US, where total sales rose 45 per cent.

The wider group – which also runs large grocery, ingredients and agriculture operations – is on track for “a year of meaningful progress” in profitability, according to AB Foods.

Overall group-wide revenues lifted 5.4 per cent to £6.9 billion (€8.1 billion) in the first quarter to January 6th.