Associated British Foods plc

Thank you all very much for joining us in person today and thank you for those of you who are online. Before I get into the results presentations, I have a few comments to make about my learned friends on the right. I think all of you know that today is John's last time presenting ABF results. He was appointed our finance director on the 4th of May 1999. Just a week short of 24 years ago, when my daughter, who's just graduated from university last summer, was six months away from being born. We've established that he's been around for a long time. The big question is, has he been any good? And we've been doing a bit of internal research. This isn't audited, I warn you. We've had a look at the 35 survivors in the FTSE, of the companies in the FTSE 100 who existed when John, who were in the FTSE 100 when John started up as finance director. the first point to make, and it's kind of important in a family company, especially when I'm family, is that we're still alive. Two-thirds of the constituents aren't there anymore. We had a bit of a fright during COVID, perhaps, but other than that, and probably especially during that, John, thank you very much. Here are the total shareholder returns for the best of those 35 survivors. And here are the companies. Here are the number of finance directors that each of them has had during the period. So if we divide total returns by total finance directors to get total shareholder return per finance director over the period, And I think we've established that John has not only been good, he's been the best. I've spoken several times over the last, since John announced that he wanted to step back, about John's fine judgment around capital allocation and the capital disciplines he's embedded in our processes and in our culture. They're worth saluting again. They're a big reason why we have a good track record. I've also spoken about how John has embedded high standards in our accounting and in our controls. Accuracy around numbers is part of our DNA, not least thanks to John. The basics are done really well in ABF, at least most of the time. And we all understand that in a diversified company with loads of devolved authority, reliable numbers are absolutely vital. you must always know where you are. I've also spoken about another one of his superpowers, which is his sometimes exhausting energy, most remarkably after nights involving red wine. It is no coincidence that we're replacing John with an ex-rugby-playing Irishman. I haven't spent much time paying tribute to John's qualities as a communicator. And so now I will. And I think this is the right time and the place to do it. In a company like this with a majority shareholder, it is so important that other shareholders feel that relevant information is available to them, that their views are listened to, even if we don't have to do what you tell us to, and respected, and that they believe what they're being told. It might sometimes have been hard to get hold of John before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m. has worked for many. But I hope you agree that he's always possessed an extraordinary knowledge of this company, a fantastic insight into what all the different parts are trying to achieve. And for someone trained as a scientist, this is unusual and quite annoying. A first class ability to bring clarity to his spoken and to his written work. communications. I've shared so many meetings with John where I've marvelled at how articulate he is, especially when he's needing to bring some sense to statements of mine, which where I thought I was being totally clear, but sadly no one else did. But for all his ability to retain information, for all his ability to speak in sentences, John's brilliance, I think, as a communicator rests most of all on something that he's never set out to achieve, which is that he gets people to like him. He is a really good bloke who in turn just likes other people. John, I hope you won't mind me saying this, and it's a bit personal, but I think some of your ability as a communicator and as a people person is founded on your deep Christian faith, that leads you to respect, value, and sometimes, yes, love your fellow man. I don't think he's ever really thought of himself as superior to anyone, and this is a rare and very special quality. Let me very briefly then introduce Owen, although I suspect many of you know him well already. For a pronunciation lesson, his surname is pronounced Tonj.

Yes?

Yeah, absolutely. He says by the time he started to correct people at Marks and Spencer's who had chosen other versions, it was too late to do so politely. And we don't want to repeat that mistake here at ABF. Owen's job in the next little while is to persuade you all that the wheels won't fall off when John isn't here. Today, he's sitting next to us largely quietly, I think. And but will participate in the Q&A, particularly on anything around the outlook statement. The numbers in this presentation of the first half aren't his. Let me then turn on to the first half business highlights. This is a much better performance than we'd anticipated last summer. We really are delighted with them. We've seen extreme volatile cost movements in all our markets and we've had to take considerable cost mitigation and pricing actions. The food business in particular has been very resilient through all this and we've seen an exceptional performance in ingredients that we'll come back to. Primark sales are up 19% driven by footfall pricing and new stores. We've seen volume growth in all our markets despite difficult consumer conditions. The decision not to fully recover cost inflation, I think, has been a good one. I think we've judged that balance between the need to recover costs and the need to protect our consumers. I think we've judged that well. And then, and I'll come back to it, the new store opening program has been very successful. We've seen increased investment across both Primark and the food businesses and some important innovation, particularly the Primark website, which is a ever more evidently valuable part of Primark's capabilities. First, our financial highlights. These then, group revenues are up 17%, adjusted operating profit down seven, adjusted operating profit before tax in line, with financing costs moving in our favor. Adjusted earnings per share are down three. Interim dividends that the board has decided upon are up three, reflecting confidence in the business. Gross investment up 17% to £527 million. And with that, John, over to you.