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Annual
Report
2020

Our purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food and clothing that is great value for money.

Photographed here are five of the many colleagues who rose to the challenges faced during 2020. Read how all of our businesses went above and beyond in our Chief Executive’s statement and operating reviews.

Download Annual
Report and Accounts 2020 Download ABF group
at a glance
Associated British Foods 2020

Performance
highlights

Back to Investors

Our culture carried
us through

I will never be able to thank our people enough for their extraordinary efforts this year. I am proud to be able to represent such a group.

Michael McLintock Chairman
Michael McLintock, Chairman
George Weston, Chief Executive Officer

Our financial performance this year more than ever demonstrates the resilience of the group

This comes from the strength of our brands, the diversity of our products and markets, our geographic spread, conservative financing and an organisation design that permits fast and flexible decision-taking.

George Weston Chief Executive

Group Business Model

Our group

The group is organised
into five business segments:

Grocery

Sugar

Agriculture

Ingredients

Retail

53
operating countries
40+
consumer brands
Sales into
100+
countries

The role of the corporate centre

Offers a framework in which our business leaders have the freedom and decision-making authority to pursue opportunities with entrepreneurial flair. The corporate centre is small and uses short lines of communication to ensure prompt, incisive and unambiguous decision-making. It provides specialist resources including:

Strategic engagement

Disciplined capital
allocation and monitoring

Framework for
collaboration

Specialist central resources

Finance


IT


Talent development

Legal


Procurement


Tax

Insurance


Property


Treasury

Our businesses

This enables our
businesses to focus on
what they do best:

Market knowledge

Industry expertise

Operational capability

Customer relationships

Innovation

Our stakeholders

Which helps us to deliver
value for our stakeholders by:

Providing safe, nutritious, affordable food and clothing that is great value for money for our customers.

Delivering sustainable growth for investors over the long term.

Developing our talent and creating opportunities for employee progression.

Making a positive impact on the communities in which we operate, wherever we can.

Our values

Underpinning our business model are our values:

Respecting
everyone's
dignity

Acting
with
integrity

Progressing
through
collaboration

Pursuing
with
rigour

Operating review

Grocery

Grocery comprises consumer-facing businesses that manufacture and market a variety of well-known household brands both nationally and internationally.

  • Revenue £3,528m
    2019: £3,498m
    Actual fx: Up 1%
    Constant fx: Up 2%
  • Adjusted operating profit £437m
    2019: £381m
    Actual fx: Up 15%
    Constant fx: Up 15%
  • Adjusted operating profit margin 12.4%
    2019: 10.9%
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: 10.9%
  • Return on average capital employed 31.3%
    2019: 27.4%
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: 26.2%

Sugar

AB Sugar is a leading producer of sugar and sugar-derived co-products in southern Africa, the UK, Spain and north east China.

  • Revenue £1,594m
    2019: £1,608m
    Actual fx: Down 1%
    Constant fx: Up 5%
  • Adjusted operating profit £100m
    2019: £26m
    Actual fx: Up 285%
    Constant fx: Up 376%
  • Adjusted operating profit margin 6.3%
    2019: 1.6%
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: 1.9%
  • Return on average capital employed 6.3%
    2019: 1.6%
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: 1.8%

Agriculture

AB Agri is a leading international agricultural business operating across the agri-food industry, producing and marketing animal feed, nutrition- and technology-based products and services.

  • Revenue £1,395m
    2019: £1,385m
    Actual fx: Up 1%
    Constant fx: Up 1%
  • Adjusted operating profit £43m
    2019: £42m
    Actual fx: Up 2%
    Constant fx: Up 2%
  • Adjusted operating profit margin 3.1%
    2019: 3.0%
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: 3.0%
  • Return on average capital employed 10.5%
    2019: 10.7%
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: 10.3%

Ingredients

Our Ingredients businesses supply yeast, bakery and specialty ingredients to food and non-food manufacturers.

  • Revenue £1,503m
    2019: £1,505m
    Actual fx: In line
    Constant fx: Up 3%
  • Adjusted operating profit £147m
    2019: £136m
    Actual fx: Up 8%
    Constant fx: Up 10%
  • Adjusted operating profit margin 9.8%
    2019: 9.0%
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: 9.1%
  • Return on average capital employed 16.7%
    2019: 15.9%
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: 15.5%

Retail

Primark is a major retail group operating stores in the Republic of Ireland, UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, France, Italy, Slovenia, Poland and the US.

  • Revenue £5,895m
    2019: £7,792m
    Actual fx: Down 24%
    Constant fx: Down 24%
  • Adjusted operating profit £362m
    2019: £913m
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: £969m
    Actual fx: Down 60%
    Constant fx: Down 62%
  • Adjusted operating profit margin 6.1%
    2019: 11.7%
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: 12.4%
  • Return on average capital employed 5.6%
    2019: 28.9%
    2019 IFRS 16 pro forma: 15.2%

Our balance sheet
remains robust

When Primark’s stores were closed in March, and with no certainty as to when they could be reopened, immediate steps were taken to secure the liquidity of the group with an increased focus on central cash availability.

John Bason Finance Director
John Bason

Downloads

Printed AR cover

Annual Report and
Accounts 2020

Printed CR cover

2020 Responsibility Update

Group at a glance

Group at a glance

Site services

Further information

Useful links

Associated British Foods plc Registered in England
No. 293262 at Weston Centre,
10 Grosvenor Street,
London W1K 4QY

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Associated British Foods plc

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