B&M posts uplift in full year sales and profit
B&M has posted an uplift in full year revenue and profits after the company was boosted by growth at both its B&M and Heron Foods fascias.
In the year to 28 March, group revenue increased by 16.5% to £3.813 billion while pre-tax profit rose by 3.2% to £252 million. Like-for-like sales at UK B&M stores climbed by 3.3%.
In a statement, Simon Arora, B&M chief executive, said: “In this last financial year our core B&M UK business delivered solid growth, as did our Heron Foods convenience store business. However, so much about our lives has changed so profoundly and so fast as a result of Covid-19 that a financial year which ended only a short time ago already seems a world away. It is an understatement to say that the progress made during the year has been overtaken by recent events.
“The challenges posed by the virus have been beyond anything we have experienced before; they have tested every aspect of the way we do business in recent weeks and I’m pleased to say that B&M is coming through the crisis well because of the strength of the B&M proposition and the way our team has responded to those challenges.”
During the period, B&M opened a net 36 new UK stores and is planning to open a further 30 in the current financial year. While the rate of new openings has been impacted by disruption caused by the Covid-19 crisis, the retailer said its long term target of at least 950 B&M stores in the UK remains unchanged.
The company said trading since the year-end has been strong.
