Owner of Primark, Associated British Foods (LON:ABF), posted sales of £7.5 billion in first-half results. The £7.5 billion figure is 1% higher to that of the prior year. It also revealed an adjusted operating profit of £639 million, a 1% decrease compared to last year. Primark itself delivered a profit growth of 25%. “Primark delivered excellent profit growth, driven by further development of our customer experience and selling space expansion,” said George Weston, Chief Executive of Associated British Foods. “This is a robust set of results. Profit at AB Sugar was substantially reduced but, from this period, we expect our sugar profitability to improve. The strong underlying growth in Grocery profits demonstrates good momentum,” he continued. Earlier in April, the world’s largest Primark store opened in Birmingham, covering 161,000 sq ft over five floors. In addition to offering its affordable fashion products, the new store boasts a Disney-themed café, a barber’s shop and a beauty studio. With department stores such as Debenhams struggling for survival, Primark’s move is bold for a time where uncertain high street trading conditions prevail. Primark has, however, been criticised in the past over its staff’s pay, and the impacts that “fast-fashion” has on the environment and societies alike. Boohoo also revealed its financial results today, posting a 49% rise in its annual profit. Unlike Primark which trades exclusively on the high street, Boohoo is an online fashion retailer. At the end of last year, Primark warned on the gloomy retail environment ahead of its sales in the run-up to Christmas. But, despite its challenging run-up to the festive period, Primark exceeded expectations for its Christmas trading. For the 16 weeks to the 05 January, Primark sales increased 4%, and sales for Associated British Foods increased 2% as a whole. At 08:12 BST Wednesday, shares in Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF) were trading 0.2% higher. Shares in Boohoo Group plc (LON:BOO) were up 0.046% as of 08:13 Wednesday.

Fastjet shares ticked up on Tuesday after the company forecast a ‘marginal’ profit for 2019 in a trading update. The low-cost African airline said that despite incurring a loss of $41.2 million in 2018, it expects to deliver a modest profit for the upcoming year, amid various restructuring efforts. During the first quarter of the year, Fastjet saw the group record an underlying net operating loss of around $200,000 on revenue of $9.5 million. This proved an improvement from the $7.8 million loss reported on revenue of $13.8 million during the final quarter of 2018. The company added that the first quarter of the year ‘represents a seasonally weaker demand period’. It was also detrimentally impacted by cyclones in Mozambique, fuel protests and currency volatility in Zimbabwe. Nico Bezuidenhout, fastjet Chief Executive Officer, commented: “In 2018, we took significant and decisive action to right-size the Group and ensure the business has a solid platform on which to build future growth. Whilst these cost-cutting measures were at times painful, our newly-sized operations provide fastjet with a materially enhanced strategic position to pursue the growth opportunities on offer on the continent. Despite the impact of cyclones in Mozambique at the start of the current year and continued fuel protests and currency volatility in Zimbabwe, fastjet is making progress and expects to generate a marginal underlying operating profit for 2019, with further route expansion planned for Zimbabwe in the second half of the coming year, as well as a brand entry into South Africa in 2020.” Last year, the airline narrowly avoided falling into administration, amid a series of profit warnings. Shares in Fastjet (LON:FJET) are currently + 5.09% as of 11:21AM (GMT), on the back of the trading update.

Barclays is set to cut bonuses for investment bankers as it looks to keep activist investor Edward Bramson at bay. The British bank is set to cut bonuses at its investment banking division in a bid to streamline costs, ahead of its upcoming annual meeting. This will mean that pay will be more closely tied with performance, in light of the divisions underwhelming performance. The financial institution is also set to adopt a tougher stance on promotions. In 2018, 85 bankers were promoted in Barclays International compared with 74 the year before. The reported decision comes amid increased pressure from Bramson, who has a 5.5% stake in the bank through his company Sherborne Investors. This makes Bramson the bank’s third largest investor. Bramson is seeking a seat on the board, and is also proposing that the bank streamlines its investment unit. Nevertheless, according to reports, Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley has opposed the move, remaining committed to maintaining the bank’s investment banking presence. Barclays’ annual meeting is set to take place on May 2nd. In its most recent annual results, Barclays reported profits of £3.5 billion, sending shares upwards. Shares in the bank (LON:BARC) are currently down -2.55% as of 11:01AM (GMT).

Samsung (KRX:005930) is retrieving all of its Galaxy Fold samples just a day after it postponed the new gadget’s launch, according to Reuters. A person with direct knowledge of the situation has said that Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is reclaiming samples that it had sent to reviewers. This is to investigate the reports of its broken screens. The Galaxy Fold was set to be launched in the US on the 26 April, and the 3 May in the UK. However, the launch has been delayed in order to allow the tech giant to revaluate its product. It is now unknown when the foldable device, valued at £1,800, will go on sale, and a new launch date is due to be revealed in the upcoming weeks. A variety of technology journalists had issues with the device, such as breaks, bulges and screen problems, just after a single day’s usage. Some people even mistakenly peeled off a layer of film from the screen’s coating, thinking that it was a disposable screen protector. “We will also enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer,” Samsung commented on the issue. Though it was said that the folding screens could be opened and closed again for over 100,000 times without causing any damage, in practice the device did not live up to its laboratory trials. Elsewhere in the tech industry, Samsung rival Apple (NASDAQQ:AAPL) recently announced that it would cut its iPhone production by 10% across the three months from January. It said it would produce between 40-43 million iPhones, a downgrade from its previous plans to produce 47-48 million devices. At 15:30 GMT +9, shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KRX:005930) were trading at -0.33%. Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were last trading at +0.33%.