AB Foods profit falls on sugar weakness
LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - Associated British Foods (LSE: ABF.L - news) met forecasts with a 2 percent fall in first-half profit as sales growth at its Primark discount fashion chain was offset by continued weakness in its sugar operation.
The firm said on Tuesday it made an underlying operating profit of 474 million pounds ($705 million) in the six months to Feb. 28.
That compares to analysts' average forecast of 475 million pounds, according to Reuters data, and 497 million pounds made in the previous corresponding period.
Underlying earnings per share rose 1 percent to 46.1 pence.
AB Foods said its trading outlook for the full-year was unchanged.
It said with sterling's continuing strength against most of its major trading currencies, and the transactional impact of euro weakness on the results of Primark and British Sugar, it expected a modest decline in adjusted full-year earnings per share. ($1 = 0.6725 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle)