ASBFY Associated British Foods Plc (PK)

By Rory Gallivan

LONDON--Associated British Foods PLC (ABF.LN), the ingredients company that also owns the clothing retailer Primark, on Monday said its adjusted operating profit for the first half is expected to be in line with last year after a strong performance at Primark.

"A much lower profit from Sugar will be offset by another excellent performance from Primark and encouraging results from Grocery and Ingredients," the company said.

AB Foods said it continues to expect adjusted earnings per share for the financial year to be similar to 2013.

Shares closed Friday at 2,993 pence, valuing the company at GBP23.7 billion.

Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com; Twitter: @RoryGallivan

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