Pets at Home posts increase in first half revenue despite subdued market
Pets at Home has posted a 1.9% increase in group revenue to £789.1 million in the first half of its financial year.
In the 28 weeks to 10 October, retail revenue growth was 0.1% and flat on a like-for-like basis, which the retailer attributed to a declining retail market and the previously flagged impact of its transition to a new digital platform.
Pets at Home’s vet group revenue growth remained strong at 18.6% as its vet practices’ performance was boosted by an uplift in subscriptions, visits and average transaction values.
Meanwhile, underlying pre-tax profit increased by 14.1% to £54.5 million. On a statutory basis, pre-tax profit climbed by 47.3% to £51.1 million.
Lyssa McGowan, Pets at Home chief executive, said: “The first half of FY25 was characterised by a subdued market, against which we outperformed. In vets, our differentiated joint venture model continues to drive material outperformance over peers. In retail, our customer satisfaction is excellent, our price position is strong, and we have tight control of our cost base.”
During the period, Pets at Home opened three new shops and completed 14 refits as its Stafford distribution supported almost record availability in stores.
The retailer is expecting the unusually subdued pet retail market to continue throughout the second half. As a result, it now anticipates that its underlying pre-tax profit for FY25 will grow modestly from last year.
McGowan added: “We are confident this will be temporary, and growth will return to historical norms with the longer-term attractive outlook for the UK pet care market unchanged.”
Commenting on the recently announced changes to the National Living Wage and employers’ National Insurance Contributions, Pets at Home said this will represent an £18 million cost increase for the business in FY26.
