Pets at Home grows sales and profits
Pets at Home has reported that statutory pre-tax profit rose by 12.4% to £46 million in the first half of its financial year.
In the 28 weeks to 13 October, total revenue grew by 9.1% to £441.3 million while like-for-like sales rose by 2.5%.
The company said it had seen strong like-for-like growth of 8.7% in services revenue as its joint venture veterinary business continued to perform well.
Pets at Home opened eight new superstores, 17 vet practices and 18 grooming salons in the period. Some 49% of superstores now have both a vet practice and grooming salon.
Ian Kellett, Pets at Home chief executive, said: “We have again demonstrated strong performance in services, with 47.6% revenue growth. We have also seen robust trading in merchandise where health and hygiene sales returned to a more normalised level after a poor season last year.
“We are pleased that our investment in seamless shopping is delivering results with increased volumes, basket spend and the launch of our first subscription service.”
The company said recent trading has been softer than in the first half, but its full year profit outlook remains in line with market expectations as its maintains a focus on margins and costs.
Kellet added: “In a more difficult trading environment, we continue to build Pets at Home for the future and are confident in the long-term outlook for our unique offer in the resilient pet market, in particular, the developing potential of our services business as we see it mature and grow.”
