Pets at Home Group has reduced its profit expectations in the face of sluggish retail performance.
In a trading statement covering the 16-week period to July 17, 2025, the group’s retail revenue was down 3% year-on-year, with like for like sales also down by 3%. The retailer maintained that this represented “sequential improvement, as we moved beyond the transition of online sales to Stafford DC, delivered against a subdued market backdrop with no growth in the pet retail market”.
Consumer revenue at the company’s Vet Group continued to grow, up by 7.1%, driven by higher average transaction values and the sale of increased numbers of Care Plans.
In total, group statutory revenue declined 1.9% to £435m, with group like-for-like revenue down 1.9%. As a result, the retailer is now expecting its full-year underlying pre-tax profit to fall in the range of £110-120m, lower than originally anticipated, with an expectation of only 1% growth in the pet care market.
Chief executive Lyssa McGowan 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.”
