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FTSE 100 firm Associated British Foods (LON:PSN) has seen its shares climb by 6.57% to 2,321p (as of 11:25 GMT) after the company revealed that sales under its Primark brand were up by 4% during the 16 weeks ended 5th January. The increase in sales was largely driven by an increase in space, meaning like for like sales dropped slightly, but operating margins and profitability improved overall.
Revenues from continuing sugar operations fell by 12% relative to the same period of last year as the company fulfilled EU contracts negotiated at the end of last year. There are some signs during current negotiations that sugar prices in the EU are beginning to rebound.