ABF: Primark owner's shares sink as sales slow at FTSE 100 giant

AB Foods-owned Primark has its flagship store on Oxford Street. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Shares in Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) have plunged after the group warned that challenging conditions were weighing on the company’s trading.

The FTSE 100 giant listed consumer caution, geopolitical uncertainty and inflation as top factors contributing to a less than favourable environment.

Shares plunged 10 per cent on the news to their lowest value since May.

The group said sales at Primark would rise one per cent in the second half, but on a like-for-like basis expects sales to be two per cent lower year-on-year.

This included a 2.4 per cent drop in quarter three and two per cent in quarter four.

Mark Crouch, market analyst for investment platform eToro, sa