Record profits from the Primark brand of clothing outlets, which includes 38 stores in Ireland, have been recorded by the holding company, Associated British Foods (ABF), in its annual results. ABF uses the "Penneys" trading name for its 33 outlets in the Republic, the most recent of which opened in Athlone a fortnight ago.
In the North, its five stores operate under the Primark name as do the 46 stores in Britain. "Primark, our retail textile operation, contributed record profits up 46 per cent at £19 million," ABF announced for the period ending September 13th. Sales turnover in Primark increased by 6 per cent to £256 million. Over all of ABF's businesses, which include British Sugar, Burton's biscuits and Twinings tea, profit before tax was up by 10 per cent to £401 million, despite an estimated loss of £39 million from the appreciation of sterling.
Profit before tax on its British and Irish operations was £289 million, of which £19 million was from retail operations. The Penney's/Primark retail outlets in Ireland are the company's sole remaining interests here after the sale of Quinnsworth/ Crazy Prices and Stewarts to Tesco earlier this year for £630 million. Mr Peter Patchett, financial controller at ABF, said that Primark had been "quite expansionary" over the past two years.
This expansion includes the purchase of 15 "One Up" stores in 1996, although there have only been three new Primark openings, including the Athlone one, this year. The group's investment income for the year was £72 million.
