Associated British Food (ABF) has published its results for the 24 weeks ended 28th February 2026, reporting a 20% fall in grocery adjusted operating profit.
ABF revenue decreased by 2% on the year to £9,470 million, while adjusted operating profit fell by 18% to £691 million, down from £835 million. The business said this reflected “continued investment in growth” and certain cost impacts weighted to the first half of the year.
Grocery adjusted operating profit declined by 20%, sitting at £179 million, which it said was primarily due to its US oils businesses, including its joint venture.
Ingredients adjusted operating profit declined 7% due to a reported “soft market demand” in bakery ingredients in the US. Sugar also suffered an adjusted operating loss of £27 million, which ABF said was a result of lower average selling prices in Europe.
ABF’s agriculture division saw a 50% drop in its operating profit, sitting at £6 million. According to ABF, this reflected a decline in compound feed following the loss of a larger customer. It also reported a “lower profit contribution” from its joint venture, Frontier, due to the impact of unfavourable market conditions and a small UK crop size on its grain trading business.
George Weston, chief executive of ABF, commented: “We knew the first half of this financial year was going to be challenging and that’s borne out in our financial results. However, we still expect improved Group performance in the second half.
“Our Grocery and Ingredients businesses performed as we had expected them to, with our US businesses impacted by weak consumer demand. Our international Grocery brands delivered good sales growth and are positioned for a stronger profit performance in the second half. In Sugar, the results were below our expectations and given the current market conditions, we are more cautious on the outlook.
“We are managing the impacts of the Middle East conflict. Given what we know today, we expect the cost consequences in 2026 to be manageable. Our strong balance sheet underpins the Group’s resilience.”
ABF separates food and retail businesses
The Group also revealed that it would proceed with the demerger of its Primark business from its Food business. It is intended that George Weston will be chief executive of FoodCo.
George Weston, chief executive of ABF, stated: “This is an important step in the evolution of ABF. For our Food business, the separation will enable greater understanding of the breadth and strength of our differentiated portfolio and its long-term growth opportunities as the only FTSE100 pure play food producer. For Primark, it enables the creation of appropriate governance to maximise the future potential offered by Primark’s powerful brand, strong customer proposition and opportunities in existing and new markets.”
