Warmer winter boosts ABF - FT.com A warmer, sunnier UK winter has boosted sugar beet production at Associated British Foods, offsetting higher raw material and restructuring costs at the food and clothing group. The FTSE 100 company, whose interests range from low-end clothing retailer Primark to sugar and groceries, on Monday said first-half earnings would be a little ahead of last year in spite of higher interest charges. At ABF's sugar division, which accounts for about one-fifth of group revenues, first-half production rose from 1m tonnes to 1.3m tonnes year on year, as the sunnier winter increased the sugar content of beets. The conditions were an improvement on the previous year, when Arctic conditions in the UK froze the ground and ruined many farmers" crops. At Primark, bargain-conscious shoppers drove up like-for-like sales by 3 per cent, bucking the trend of sales declines reported by rivals such as Barratt and Peacocks over the festive period. "We had a cracking Christmas," John Bason, ABF finance director, told the Financial Times. Shopping for clothes is an affordable pleasure. We had the right range and we stood by the consumer during the cotton price spike. ABF's margins took a hit when cotton prices soared last year, but analysts expect this pressure to have eased now that prices have more than halved from their peaks. However, higher prices for raw materials such as molasses and yeast have weighed on ABF's ingredients and agriculture unit, with analysts forecasting a cut in first-half earnings of almost one-third to £20m at the division. "While it is true that upgrades to forecasts in sugar have been offset by downgrades in grocery and ingredients, and higher interest costs, we are confident in our forecast of 13.9 per cent earning per share growth to 84.3p for the full-year," said Graham Jones, at Panmure Gordon. The group's net debt has grown from £1.4bn to £1.65bn year on year, after ABF was forced to increase its working capital in order to cope with higher raw material prices. The maker of Ryvita crackers and Jordan's cereal bars has also been hit by higher charges relating the closure of two bakeries in the UK, on top of a previously announced restructuring in Australia. The UK's three main bakers - the other two are Premier Foods" Hovis and privately owned Warburtons - are battling it out in a declining market, which is also facing high logistics and distribution costs. ABF shares slipped 1.7 per cent, or 21p, to £11.98 in early London trading.