Pepco Group hit by challenging third quarter trading conditions
Pepco Group, the owner of the Pepco, Poundland and Dealz brands, has posted an uplift in third-quarter revenue despite challenging trading conditions.
In the three months to 30 June, group sales rose by 12.5% to €1.370 billion on a constant currency basis as Pepco and Poundland revenue increased by 15.3% and 8.6% respectively. On a like-for-like basis, group sales edged up 2.6%.
The group said Pepco experienced challenging trading conditions during April and May, particularly in Central Europe, but the business has seen a recovery over recent weeks. This meant that the brand’s like-for-like sales were down 1.2% overall in the quarter.
Meanwhile, Poundland’s like-for-like sales rose by 9% due to an improved FMCG performance.
During the period, the group delivered 159 net new store openings as part of plans to launch 550 net new stores in the current financial year.
Trevor Masters, chief executive of Pepco Group, said: “The past quarter saw the group make further strategic progress, with 159 net new stores launched as we continued to execute on our profitable store opening programme. We remain confident of meeting our target of opening at least 550 new stores this financial year, with openings weighted towards the fourth quarter.
“As we highlighted at our interim results in June, the macro-economic climate continues to be challenging, particularly in Central Europe, due to elevated levels of inflation.”
The group said its outlook for the full year remains unchanged, with EBITDA growth in the mid-teens on a constant currency basis.
Masters added: “We remain committed to supporting our customers in this challenging environment by maintaining our market leading pricing. Our focus remains on building a bigger, better, cheaper and simpler business and we are well positioned to deliver future success as inflationary pressures ease.”
