B&M: Bargains boost sales during ‘golden quarter’ – but will shares continue to rally?
Bargain hunters gave discount retailer B&M a timely Christmas present as it looks to continue a share price rally that has seen its value jump 18 per cent in the last six months.
In its third quarter trading update B&M reported 12.3 per cent year-on-year revenue growth of £1.5bn during the 13 week period 25 September 2022 to 24 December 2022.
Adjusted earnings for the full year 2023 are expected to be in the range of £560m to £580m, ahead of analysts’ predictions of £557m. That is still shy of last year’s £619m generated in the year to 2022.
It will be seen as a boost of confidence for chief exec Alex Russo, who took the reins from predecessor Simon Arora in September of last year.
One-year like-for-like sales rose by 6.4 per cent, with grocery and general merchandise performing well.
B&M said revenue generated by its B&M France subsidiary rose by 24.9 per cent year on year, with Heron Foods up 22.5 per cent.
The company’s board said it intended to declare a special dividend of 20.0p per Ordinary Share to be paid on 3 February 2023 to shareholders on the register at 13 January 2023.
The ex-dividend date will be 12 January 2023.
Russo said: “Our strong momentum throughout the Golden Quarter across the businesses demonstrates the strength of our unchanged strategy to relentlessly focus on price, product and excellence in retail execution. Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, we will continue to work hard to help both existing and new customers manage the cost-of-living crisis. The business has exited the quarter well and will remain focused on disciplined execution.”