UK's Associated British Foods FY revenue, profit beat estimates
Overview
UK food and retail group's annual revenue slightly beat analyst expectations
Adjusted EPS for the year declined but beat analyst expectations
Adjusted operating profit fell year-on-year, but exceeded analyst expectations
Outlook
Company expects 2027 adjusted operating profit and EPS below 2026, mainly due to Sugar
Primark’s adjusted operating margin expected to be about 10% in 2027
Company expects 2027 Sugar adjusted operating loss between £70 mln and £170 mln
Result Drivers
MACRO HEADWINDS - Co said results were impacted by challenging operating environment and macroeconomic headwinds
PRIMARK INVESTMENT - Increased investment in product, marketing and digital engagement at Primark aimed at strengthening customer proposition
US CONSUMER WEAKNESS & SUGAR PRICES - Co said profit was hurt by US consumer weakness in some categories and lower European sugar prices
Company press release:
Key Details
Metric | Beat/Miss | Actual | Consensus Estimate |
FY Revenue | Slight Beat* | GBP 19.58 bln | GBP 19.50 bln (18 Analysts) |
FY Adjusted EPS | Beat | GBP 1.56 | GBP 1.53 (17 Analysts) |
FY Adjusted Operating Profit | Beat | GBP 1.51 bln | GBP 1.49 bln (18 Analysts) |
FY Adjusted Pretax Profit | Beat | GBP 1.46 bln | GBP 1.43 bln (17 Analysts) |
*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.
Analyst Coverage
The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is no "strong buy" or "buy", 12 "hold" and 6 "sell" or "strong sell"
The average consensus recommendation for the food processing peer group is "buy."
Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Associated British Foods PLC is GBp1,800.00, about 7.4% below its November 2 closing price of GBp1,943.00
The stock recently traded at 13 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 13 three months ago
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(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)