Pets at Home PBT drops 3.2%
Overall, the company has issued no change in its underlying profit before tax guidance for FY25
Pets at Home has revealed that its underlying profit-before-tax dropped 3.2% year-on-year to £132m for the year ended 28 March 2024.
The company said it expected this drop as a result of short-term availability issues as it transitioned to its new distribution centre and weaker performance of discretionary accessories.
This also caused its statutory profit-before-tax to drop 13.7% to £105.7m because of non-underlying costs of £26.3m, mostly associated with its DC transition and support office consolidation.
Despite this, its total group revenue grew 5.2% up to £1.5bn, with group like-for-like revenue rising 5.1%.
Its vet group revenue grew 16.8%, with LFL up 16.5%, with record sales supported by higher average transaction value, mix and visits as it increased its clinical capacity.
Alongside this, the company’s retail revenue grew 4.0%, up 4.1% LFL, and its Q4 LFL was in line with expectations with continued volume growth and slowing inflation in food.
Overall, the company has issued no change in its underlying profit before tax guidance for FY25.
It also stated it had seen low double-digit growth in its vet group, with retail falling 2%, for the first six weeks of the year.
Lyssa McGowan, CEO, said: “FY24 has been a pivotal year for the business, having delivered some key building blocks of our platform for long term growth. I am proud of the progress we have made in the year; we relaunched our brand, opened our new DC, built our new digital platform, made progress in our sustainability agenda, and enhanced our physical estate.
“The business has come together brilliantly to navigate any challenges faced this year, and we have delivered some key milestones of our strategy. Our medium-term strategy and financial framework is unchanged and, looking ahead, the fundamental strengths of the business position us well to deliver growth.”
She added: “We hold a leading position in a structurally growing market, with an unrivalled retail store network, and a unique, differentiated and integrated vet business. We know the nation’s pets better than anyone else, with over 10 years of analytical data on 10 million pets, and we now have a best-in-class digital platform, and a modern efficient DC.
“Above all else, we have the best colleagues in the industry, who use their passion and expertise to guide customers through their pet care journey every day. All of this positions us incredibly well as we continue to execute our strategy to build the world’s best pet care platform.”
