Poundland reports fall in profits as it becomes target of takeover bid
Poundland has reported a drop in annual profits as it becomes the target of a potential takeover bid by South African retail group Steinhoff.
Underlying pre-tax profits fell by 13.5% to £37.8 million in the year to 27 March when the cost of converting the recently acquired 99p store chain were excluded.
Statutory pre-tax profit dropped by 84% to £5.9 million while like-for-like sales declined by 3.9%.
Total sales rose by 18.7% to £1.3 billion.
During the year Poundland opened 60 net new stores and converted 190 99p stores to Poundland. This took the total estate to 896 shops in the UK and Republic of Ireland compared to 588 in the previous year.
Poundland chief executive Jim McCarthy, who is due to retire in August, said: “After a period of significant change, including an unprecedented integration programme at pace, Poundland now has a unified estate of over 900 stores.
“The retail environment remains challenging, but with our significantly enlarged store portfolio, greater scale and ability to focus fully on trading our stores, I believe we are well placed to make progress in the year ahead.
“I believe that under the leadership of my successor, Kevin O’Byrne, Poundland will return to growth. I wish Kevin, the leadership team, all of my colleagues and supplier partners every future success.”
