Primark 2017 sales and profits jump

Primark has reported sales up 19% in the year ending 16 September with owner Associated British Food saying the value fashion chain had performed particularly well in the UK and continental Europe.

Revenues reached £7,053m, compared to £5,949m last year and adjusted operating profit was up 7% at £735m. Operating margin took a bit of a dent and was down from 11.6% to 10.4%, which it said was down to the relative strength of the US dollar which adversely affected input costs.

In the UK sales were 10% up on last year and its "share of the total clothing market increased significantly", while sales in continental Europe were 16% ahead.

"It is noteworthy that, of Primark's top 20 stores by sales density, 15 are now in continental Europe including seven in our newest markets of France and Italy. The major success of the newly-opened store in Liffey Valley in Dublin demonstrates the opportunity for further selling space expansion in our more established markets," the retailer said.

It said that since it entered the US market two years ago it had "learned much about trading in the US and are constantly fine-tuning our ranges and store size to recognise the different demands of US shoppers."

"We opened three [US] stores during the year and extended the [original] Boston store by 20% to 92,000 sq ft. In the coming year we plan to reduce the size of three of our earlier stores in order to optimise their efficiency and provide the best shopping experience for our customers. We will also open our ninth US store in Brooklyn, New York in the summer," it added.

In total Primark added 1.5m sq ft of selling space and a net 30 stores across nine countries during the year. This brought the total estate to 345 stores and 13.9m sq ft at the financial year end. Eleven stores were added in the UK; three in each of Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy and the US; two in Germany and one each in Belgium and Ireland.