Associated British Foods (ABF) has revealed that Kingsmill owner Allied Bakeries is increasing its volumes in its trading statement for the 40 weeks ended 20 June 2015.
Kingsmill is “rebuilding its presence” in Tesco after the retailer restocked two lines following its mass delisting of Kingsmill sliced in May. However, ABF said that margins remained “under pressure”.
The group’s performance of its grocery business remains on track and it has also seen profit recovery in its ingredients and agriculture arms, retaining the “strong momentum of last year”.
The sugar crop is expected to be around 1m tonnes (mt), down from 1.45mt last year, which will lead to a fall in ABF’s quota stock levels. This is reducing across the EU with further reduction expected next year.
However, EU sugar prices have shown some signs of recovery, according to the European Commission.
Overall, group revenue for the period was 2% ahead of the same period last year at constant currency, and was level at actual exchange rates.
The statement said: “As previously indicated, the impact of currency on results for the next financial year will be more significant than this year and arises from transactional currency exposures, primarily in British Sugar and Primark.”
No comments yet