B&M posts strong full year profit uplift
B&M saw its group statutory pre-tax profit climb by 108.5% to £525.4 million in the year to 27 March.
Group revenues increased by 25.9% to £4.8 billion after like-for-like sales at B&M UK stores rose by 23.8%. Group adjusted EBITDA growth was also strong at 83%.
Meanwhile, B&M’s Babou business in France achieved an adjusted EBITDA of £11.1 million despite the disruption caused by ten weeks of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Simon Arora, B&M chief executive, said: “The last year has been an exceptional one. Our results reflect the speed at which we responded to the challenges presented by Covid-19, and the strength of our execution. The core B&M UK business, as an essential retailer, traded throughout the year and welcomed a number of new shoppers, with colleagues working tirelessly to maintain on-shelf availability and provide a safe shopping environment. We also made strong progress in France, despite many stores being closed for up to ten weeks throughout the year.”
Looking at more recent trading, the company confirmed that B&M UK like-for-like sales in the first nine weeks of the new financial year were 1% down on the corresponding week last year and that trading has been volatile at a weekly and product category level, particularly since the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Arora added: “There are many uncertainties as society slowly emerges from lockdown and trading patterns are likely to be unpredictable for much of the year. Within our UK business, we will be up against the strong comparatives from last year but we remain confident that the B&M customer proposition, with its modern network of predominantly Out of Town stores and value-led variety offer, will prove highly relevant to the needs of shoppers. As such, we are well positioned to support the communities in which we trade, retain the loyalty of new customers, and to continue our store roll-out strategy.”
