AB Foods Misses Earnings, Shares Down 4%

AB Foods reported H1 sales £9.47bn and EPS 70.7p, both below consensus of £9.52bn and 73.1p.
EBIT fell to £691m, missing the £727m forecast, leaving a 7.3% margin 150bps under expectations.
Primark sales £4.66bn grew 2% ex‑currency, LFL sales fell 2.7%, margin 10.1% beating 9.9% estimate.
Grocery EBIT £179m and Sugar loss £27m missed forecasts, prompting full‑year guidance downgrade; shares slipped over 4% in London.