B&M warns on profit after dip in sales
B&M has warned on profit after a fall in second quarter UK sales.
The retailer’s UK like-for-like sales declined by 1.1% in the period which was below expectations.
B&M also saw its costs increase in the six months to 27 September, including wage costs climbing by around £30 million due to the rise in national minimum wage and employer’s National Insurance. In addition, the new annual extended producer responsibility tax added an extra £14 million in costs.
B&M is now expecting to report group adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) of around £198 million for the half year compared to £274 million a year earlier. It also said that group adjusted EBITDA is likely to be in the range of £510 million to £560 million for FY26 – a fall of up 18% on the prior year.
B&M said it has taken decisive actions to improve its performance, although these would take 12 to 18 months to take effect.
Tjeerd Jegen, B&M chief executive, said: “Since becoming CEO in June, I have led the business through a comprehensive review of our customer proposition and operations.
“We have concluded that while B&M’s value proposition remains strong, our operational execution has been weak. This has impacted our first-half trading performance, and this is reflected in the full-year outlook that we publish today.
“Our response is a decisive plan, ‘Back to B&M Basics’, focused on returning the UK business to sustainable like-for-like growth.
“This is our absolute priority. We have already sharpened our price position, and we are moving with pace to refocus our ranges, improve on-shelf availability and bring back excitement to our stores. We have more work to do, but we are confident these changes will restore consistent like-for-like sales growth over time
