Pets at Home lowers profit guidance due to subdued market
Pets at Home has lowered its full year profit guidance after experiencing a weaker than expected pet retail market in its first quarter.
In a trading statement for the 16 weeks to 17 July, the group said first quarter retail revenue improved sequentially to a decline of 3%, although consumer revenue edged up 0.4% overall after vet consumer revenue climbed by 7.1%.
Meanwhile, group statutory revenue fell by 1.9% to £435 million, with group like-for-like revenue down 1.9%.
Pets at Home said it made progress on all key performance indicators in the period as it grew the number of Pets Club customers by 1% to 8.1 million.
Lyssa McGowan, chief executive of Pets at Home, said: “We are pleased to have seen momentum in our business build through Q1, against a subdued market backdrop and uncertain consumer environment.
“Progress has been made across all 4 of our strategic metrics in the quarter, including growing our subscription revenues by over 40%, growing Pets Club members, increasing average spend and continuing to grow our Vet talent as we continue building the world’s best pet care platform.”
Subscribe to TRBLooking ahead, the group said the subdued retail market growth rates seen to date means it now expects underlying pre-tax profit for its full year to be in a range of £110 million to £120 million. This compares to a previous guidance of £115 million to £125 million.
As it continues to grow its vet capacity, Pets at Home said its is on track to meet its target of at least 10 openings and 15 extensions in the current financial year.
