Pets at Home set to beat profit expectations as revenue jumps 10 per cent
Pets at Home revealed that its revenue had grown by 9.9 per cent to £303.4m for the period 29 March to 18 July in a scheduled trading update released today.
Retail revenue was up 8.7 per cent to £266.4m and vet group revenue was up 18.8 per cent to £37m for the period this year, compared with 2018.
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The group are now expecting its underlying profit for the year to beat the current market expectations.
It said it was due to “good transaction and cash growth in retail” as well as the vet group’s underlying performance being “in line with our plans” as they have bought out a number of joint venture vet practices.
The firm saw an increase in customers sales and transactions, while the number of stores and grooming salons also grew, bucking the trend in the retail sector.
Pets at Home chief executive, Peter Pritchard: “The momentum with which we exited FY19 has continued into the first quarter of FY20. We have seen a strong sales performance across the business, particularly in Retail where like-for-like sales were 8.2% – an impressive 14% on a two year basis.
“We are also making good progress in our Vet Group. Our plans to buy out a number of Joint Venture vet practices have been carefully executed, whilst performance in the ongoing estate remains strong.
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“We have the right foundations in place to accelerate the maturity of our vet practices in a sustainable way, delivering cashflow benefits to both Joint Venture Partners and Pets at Home.
At this early stage in the year, and with ongoing uncertainty across the wider retail sector, we remain cautiously optimistic and focused on delivering our pet care strategy.”