Trading trends at cut-price clothing chain Primark and the synergies promised by a planned merger of Kingsmill-owning Allied Bakeries and Hovis will be in focus when Associated British Foods (ABF) updates the market on 10 September. The FTSE 100 foods-to-fashion conglomerate's shares are down 13% on a one-year view with discount fashion arm Primark finding life tougher on home turf and its...

UK retail stocks came under pressure on Tuesday (26 Aug) after analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded the sector citing an anticipated slowdown in consumer spending. The analysts highlighted discretionary spending growth falling to 3% in the second half from 7% in the first half, which was buoyed by sunny weather. The bank believes the back end of 2024 and the first half of 2025 may turn out to...

The FTSE 100 pulled back from a fresh intraday record on Friday as caution ahead of US-Russia peace talks, fresh tariff warnings from Washington, and weaker US consumer sentiment weighed on markets. The FTSE 100 index closed down 38.34 points, 0.4%, at 9,138.90. It had earlier reached an all-time intra-day high of 9,222.07. The FTSE 250 ended down 43.43 points, 0.2%, at 21,758.24, and the AIM...

London stocks held firm at midday on Friday as attention turned to Alaska, where an evening meeting between US and Russian leaders could influence geopolitical tensions and set the tone for global markets next week. 'It is not often that the market's attention is centred on Alaska but the US state will be firmly in focus on Friday as President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin...

Deal will see two big bread brands combine Subject to regulatory scrutiny ABF shares up 10% year-to-date Primark discount clothing chain owner Associated British Foods (ABF) announced the acquisition of Hovis Group from private equity firm Endless for an undisclosed sum. Some news articles have referenced a £75 million cash consideration. The purchase comes after the company said it had been...

Tariff-free US ethanol to blame Casualty of UK-US trade deal Shares barley move year-to-date Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) were marginally higher at £20.61 in morning trading after the global consumer conglomerate said it was in talks with the UK government about the possible wind down of its bioethanol business Vivergo. Back in April, the company flagged the commercial viability...

According to the latest Dividend Monitor report from Computershare, which looks after the share registers of 900 companies, total UK corporate dividend payments fell 4.6% or £700 million in the first quarter of this year to £14 billion. The decline was mainly due to lower one-off special dividends and a handful of large cuts from firms such as Burberry (BRBY) and Vodafone (VOD), which halved...

Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) plunged 9% earlier this week after the global consumer conglomerate posted a slide in first-half profit and downgraded full-year guidance for its Sugar business. Results for the six months to March 2025 showed a 21% drop in pre-tax profit to £692 million as the Sugar business delivered a £16 million loss. The volatile Sugar arm is now expected to make...

London's FTSE 100 remained in the green for its twelfth consecutive day on Tuesday, boosted by HSBC's first-quarter earnings and in spite of softened US economic data. The FTSE 100 index rose 46.12 points, 0.6%, at 8,463.46. The FTSE 250 advanced 76.41 points, 0.4%, at 19,809.72, and the AIM All-Share gained 5.56 points, 0.8%, at 681.31. The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.6% to 843.73, the Cboe UK 250...

First-half profits plunge 21% Primark losing market share Big miss at Sugar division Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) plunged 9% to £20.44 after the global consumer conglomerate posted a slide in first-half profits and downgraded full-year guidance for its Sugar business. The volatile Sugar arm is now expected to make a loss of up to £40 million this year versus previous expectations...

Stock prices in London were in the green on Tuesday morning, despite Associated British Foods and BP shares falling after reporting profit dives. Also, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney on his election win. 'The UK and Canada are the closest of allies, partners and friends,' Starmer said in a statement. 'Our partnership is based on shared...

Alleged inappropriate behaviour probedPrimark boss departs with 'immediate effect'Investors disappointed by leadership changePrimark parent company Associated British Foods (ABF) was the FTSE 100's biggest faller on 31 March following the shock news Paul Marchant has resigned as the cut-price clothing chain's chief executive 'with immediate effect'.The unexpected departure of Primark's...

Record full-year revenuesFourth-quarter earnings beatWeak start to new year Spanish clothing retailer Inditex (ITX:BME) fashioned a strong performance in 2024 as its affordable, quality clothing collections continued to resonate with shoppers, and the cash-rich Zara-to-Bershka brands owner also upped its annual dividend by 9% to €1.68 per share.So why was the stock marked down 7% to...

UK like-for-likes down in Christmas quarter'Cautious' shopper, mild weather blamedGrocery brands growing overseasFoods-to-fashion giant Associated British Foods (ABF) delivered a disappointing first quarter trading update with weak UK sales at Primark driving a sales growth guidance reduction for the retail jewel in the conglomerate's crown.Analysts downgraded their group profit forecasts on...

Analysts expect £78.5 billion in payouts£56.5 billion of buybacks this yearFTSE 100 up over 7% in 2024The latest AJ Bell Dividend Dashboard report shows FTSE 100 constituents are on course to pay £78.5 billion in ordinary dividends this year.That figure is almost flat on 2023 and well below the all-time high of £85.2 billion recorded in 2018, although analysts are penciling in a 6.5%...

Dividends are a key component of successful investing whether taken as an income to support retirement or reinvested to compound future total returns.With interest rates set to fall as inflation is gradually brought back under control dividend yields will become more competitive as a source of income compared with income from cash and bonds.In this article we scour the FTSE 350 for the...

Associated British Foods (ABF)Price: £21.93Market cap: £16.1 billionAs the proverb says, mighty oaks from little acorns grow, and that has certainly been the case for conglomerate Associated British Foods (ABF), which has transformed itself from a single bakery in 1935 to a group of market-leading food and clothing businesses.Best-known for its Primark low-cost fashion stores, which are a...

To date, a small, exclusive club of UK retailers have exceeded £1 billion in annual profits, a high street elite that includes Tesco (TSCO), Marks & Spencer (MKS) and Kingfisher (KGF). Some may view this £1 billion figure as merely symbolic, but breaching this barrier is no mean feat and demonstrates a retailer has a lasting place in consumers' affections and the scale to win in a...

Primark profits up 51%Good growth in food27p special dividend declaredShares in Associated British Foods (ABF) topped the FTSE 100 leader board, rallying 4.5% to £23.91, after the global consumer conglomerate reported a 33% surge in annual profits boosted by Primark's rising sales and significant margin recovery.While the discount fashion chain continues to dominate the narrative at...

Lower sugar prices impact profitabilityPrimark hit by poor UK weatherShare buyback extendedAssociated British Foods (ABF) dropped to the bottom of the FTSE with the shares falling 4% after the grocery-to-retail conglomerate warned on sugar division profitability and reported a second half decline in like-for-like sales at Primark.The shares have slipped by just over a tenth since the middle of...