Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the country this morning.
Primark owner AB Foods predicts ‘significant growth’ in profits
The boss of Primark’s parent company believes the “dust has settled” after several years of “firefighting” as a recovery in margins enabled it to raise annual profit forecasts.
Associated British Foods, the food-to-fashion group that also makes Kingsmill bread and Twinings tea, said it expected “significant growth” in full-year profitability and cash generation. Its previous guidance in January was that it expected “meaningful progress”.
The higher profit forecast further lifted confidence in its shares, which have gained about 21 per cent in the past year. During afternoon trading they were up 231p, or 9.2 per cent, at £27.36.
ABF, which is controlled by the billionaire Weston family, is a conglomerate that spans the grocery, agricultural and retail sectors, operating in 50 countries. As well as running more than 400 Primark stores, it makes products such Ryvita crackers and baking ingredients such as flour and yeast.
Spotify turns up volume to make record profits
Music streaming giant Spotify has announced record profits of over €1bn (£860m) after a year of cutting costs and laying off staff.
The Swedish company has been growing its user base for years, offering subscribers access to podcasts and audiobooks.
But its quarterly gross profit came at the expense of missing its forecast for monthly active users.
Last year it cut 17% of its workforce in a move to clamp down on costs.
What panto favourites are returning to Aberdeen this year?
Some familiar faces will be returning to Aberdeen this panto season to take to the stage at His Majesty’s Theatre.
The classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk will be brought to life by last year’s cast, including Scotland’s favourite squaddie Gary: Tank Commander.
Greg McHugh’s much-loved character will entertain the troops – and Granite City audiences – throughout the festive season.
Read the full story here.
Government borrowing higher than forecast as doubts raised over pre-election tax cuts
Doubts have been raised over the government's ability to unveil tax cuts ahead of the next general election after official figures revealed borrowing was higher than expected in the past year.
The Treasury borrowed £120.7bn in the financial year ending March 2024 - down £7.6bn from the year before, according to provisional estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
However, the figure is £6.6bn more than forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) only a month ago.
Overall, government debt was around 98.3% of the UK's annual gross domestic product (GDP) in March - up 2.6 percentage points from the previous year and at levels not seen since the early 1960s.