It is probably a good thing that Associated British Foods has not yet split itself in two, liberating the go-getting and supposedly reliable Primark from the more volatile food and ingredients businesses. In standalone form, Primark would probably have suffered a bigger share price thump than the 14% fall that the still-combined conglomerate sustained after Thursday’s profits warning.
The problem at Primark is that it has suddenly become hard to know what to expect. A year ago, the stores in continental Europe seemed to be trading well while the UK ones hit a soft spot. Now the UK end is back on form, regaining some market share, while the continental stores have had a serious skid. In the 16-week peak trading period, like-for-like sales at the former were up 1.7% while the latter (meaning Europe excluding the UK and Ireland) were down 5.7%, a big decline.
