2021 Interim Results Announcement

Financial Headlines		Actual	Constant currency
Group revenue	£6,313m	-17%	-18%
Adjusted operating profit	£369m	-46%	-46%
Adusted profit before tax	£319m	-50%
Adjusted earnings per share	25.1p	-59%
Dividend per share	6.2p
Gross investment	£382m
Net cash (before lease liabilities)	£705m
Net debt (including lease liabilities)	£2,715m
Statutory operating profit	£320m	-8%
Statutory profit before tax	£275m	-8%
Basic earnings per share	20.5p	-25%
Statutory operating profit is stated after exceptional charges and other items shown on the face of the condensed consolidated income statement. Exceptional charges of £25m this year compare to £309m in the last financial half year.

George Weston, Chief Executive of Associated British Foods, said:

“I am proud of how our people have responded to the many challenges presented by COVID-19. Our food businesses delivered an exceptional increase in adjusted operating profit of 30% and we have provided safe and nutritious food under the most demanding of conditions.

With most of the Primark stores closed for more than half the period, the management team demonstrated operational agility in response to the measures employed by governments to tackle the pandemic. Primark sales after store reopenings demonstrate the relevance and appeal of our value-for-money offering. We are excited about welcoming customers back into our stores as the lockdowns ease and are delighted with record sales in England and Wales in the week after reopening on 12 April. With our success in a number of new markets, as wide-ranging as Poland and Florida, we are as convinced as we have ever been in the long-term growth prospects for Primark.

Looking ahead, with stores reopening and Primark once again becoming cash generative, our confidence is reflected in our decisions to repay the job retention scheme monies in respect of this financial year and to declare an interim dividend."

^{The group has defined, and outlined the purpose of, its Alternative Performance Measures in note 12. These measures are used within the Financial headlines and in this Interim Results Announcement.}

For further information please contact:

Associated British Foods:
John Bason, Finance Director
Catherine Hicks, Corporate Affairs Director
Tel: 020 7399 6545

Citigate Dewe Rogerson:
Chris Barrie
Tel: 07968 727289
Jos Bieneman
Tel: 07834 336650

Interim Results Announcement