Primark has posted a jump in profits and sales during its first half as new store openings boosted revenues.
The value fashion retailer delivered a 3.2% uplift in operating profit at actual exchange rates to ÂŁ323m during the 24 weeks to March 4, its owner Associated British Foods (ABF) said.
Sales during the period spiked 11% year-on-year on the same basis to ÂŁ3.2bn.
In the UK, Primark sales grew 7% on a total basis and 2% in like-for-like terms.
During the period, it launched five new stores across Britain, in Carlisle, Colchester, Stafford, Truro and York.
New UK stores
The openings contributed to an 800,000 sq ft increase in selling space across its portfolio, with a further 11 new stores in Ireland, the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands throwing open their doors during the period.
As of March 4, Primark operated 13.1m sq ft of selling space across 329 stores.
Despite Primarkâs solid performance during the first half, ABF said that operating profit margin declined âas forecastâ, as the tumbling value of the pound impacted the fashion chainâs input costs.
âGreater margin declineâ
ABF cautioned that the âfull effectâ of sterling weakness against the US dollar would result in âa greater margin declineâ in its second half, because currency hedges were âat more advantageous exchange ratesâ in the period to March 4.
However, ABF insisted that Primark remained âcommitted to price leadershipâ and said it was working hard to reduce the currency impact on margins.
At a group level, ABF adjusted pre-tax profit soared 35% to ÂŁ624m, on sales of ÂŁ7.29bn.
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