Primark enjoyed a good Christmas partly thanks to leisure and tailored clothing in the Rita Ora collection, the singer who has a deal with the budget fashion chain.
Lower inflation and a bounce back in the West End also helped.
In the 16 weeks to January 6 retail sales were up 7.9% to £3.37 billion, a sign that Primark's popularity is undimmed. It was also able to raise margins at the clothes business.
The company did admit that Christmas sales had a a slow start due to "unseasonal warm weather".
Primark is part of the giant Associated British Foods group which owns Twinings tea and Silver Spoon sugar.
Overall sales for the company rose 5.4% to £6.88 billion. Ovaltine did well in Europe but was weaker in Asia.
Chief financial officer Eoin Tonge said: "Inflation is heading in the right direction, though there is still a little bit of volatility."
He added: "People are definitely returning to the West End -- we had a good festive period in London and on Oxford Street."
The statement to the stock market said: "The Group continues to trade well. We continue to look forward to a year of meaningful progress in both profitability and cash generation, with the profitability improvement being driven by a recovery in Primark margin."ABF, a FTSE 100 company, saw its share rise 30p to 2298p today. That leaves the company valued at £17.5 billion.
John Coldham, co-chair of retail at the law firm Gowling WLG, said:
"Today's results from ABF are, once again, led by extremely strong sales figures from its headline retailer, Primark, which continues to defy the cost-of-living crisis by continually attracting footfall within its wide network of high street outlets – as well as online.
"The retailer's ability to consistently identify strategic partnerships with the likes of Greggs in order to further enhance the in-store experience on offer, as well as delivering against the fast-changing shopping habits of the post-pandemic consumer is a prime example of how others in the group should optimise and spread their operational risk."
Emma-Lou Montgomery, associate director, Fidelity International, said: “The consumer hunt for competitively priced clothing saw sales grow strongly at Primark, boosting its market share to a record level, at 7.1%, over the festive trading period.
“Associated British Foods-owned Primark is continuing to beat the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis and even managed to ride out the unseasonably warm weather in the run-up to Christmas in the UK in style, turning in a strong Christmas trading performance."
