Fashion retailer Primark has reported a dip in sales over the past year, with bosses blaming "three periods of unseasonable weather".
The budget retailer, owned by Associated British Foods, reported a 2.1 per cent decline in 2017-18 in like-for-like sales, a measure which excludes new store openings.
In contrast, overall revenue growth at the brand was 6 per cent for the 52 weeks to September 15, aided by expansion.
The slide in sales was driven by a 4.7 per cent drop in the Eurozone, where unseasonable weather was blamed for the slump.
George Weston Chief Executive said in the company's statement: "The performance in the UK was striking with a significant increase in our share of the total clothing market.
"However, unseasonable weather in three distinct periods during the year held like-for-like sales back, especially in the Eurozone."
In the UK, like-for-like sales were up 1.2 per cent and Primark's share of the total clothing market increased significantly amid a declining high street. Overall sales were 5.3 per cent ahead of last year.
Primark pledged to continue expanding into new stores, targeting the US and Central and Eastern Europe in particular.
Primark plans to open another one million sq ft of retail space in the next financial year, including a huge 160,000 sq ft store in Birmingham that will become its biggest outlet, and other new locations in Bordeaux, Brussels, Utrecht and Milton Keynes in 2019.
The group recently made an entry into the US with nine new stores, and Primark's total sales came to £7.4bn for the year up to September.
