Penneys owner Primark expects further €810m sales hit from continued closures

Revenues fell 41%, year-on-year, to £2.2bn in the six months to the end of February

Primark - which trades here as Penneys - expects to lose a further £700m (€811m) in sales this year due to closed shops. Picture: Dan Linehan

Discount clothing retailer Primark – which trades here as Penneys – expects to take a further €810m sales hit this year and for its profits to be “somewhat lower” than last year due to a staggered reopening of stores across its main markets.

The Irish-based retailer – which is owned by conglomerate Associated British Foods (ABF) – said its revenues fell 41%, year-on-year, to £2.2bn (€2.5bn), in the six months to the end of February. 

The first half of its financial year also saw a 90% drop in adjusted operating profit to £43m.

Primark stores in England and Wales reopened last week. There is still no reopening date set for the 36 Penneys stores in the Republic, but the company will reopen its shops in the North at the end of this month. 

While its stores in other big European markets, like France and Germany, also remain closed, Primark expects to have 68% of its selling space reopened by the end of April.

However, the company expects to lose out on around £700m in sales in the second half of its financial year due to continued closures in many markets.

We expect the period after the reopening of stores to be very cash generative as we sell the higher than normal inventory on hand.

Meanwhile, retail landlord Hammerson has collected 34% of rent due from its Irish operations in the second quarter of this year. 

The group co-owns the Kildare Village retail site, Dundrum Town Centre in south Dublin, the Pavilions in Swords, and the Ilac in Dublin city centre.

On a group-wide basis, Hammerson, which owns some of the largest shopping centres across Europe, said it has collected 46% of rents for the first half of this year and 78% for last year, with nearly £30m still outstanding from 2020.

It waived nearly £28m in rent for last year.