Pets at Home has reported flat sales in a first quarter trading update.
The trading statement, covering the 16-week period to July 18, 2024, saw retail revenue down -0.8%. The company said this was “as expected”, with a stronger performance through the second half of Q1 “driven by market share gains in key categories”.
Total group revenue grew by 1% to £441.1m, (0.5% like-for-like). Total consumer revenue was up 1.5% to £576.6m.
Spending by active Pets Club loyalty scheme members was up 3% year on year to 8.0m, while vet group revenue was up 17.1% (like-for-like 13.3%).
Subscriptions are now generating 11% of consumer revenue in both vet and retail, the latter benefiting from improved functionality offered by the retailer’s new digital platform.
In the year to date, Pets at Home has opened two new pet care centres and completed five refits including two vet extensions. In the first quarter, the group raised over £1.3m for pet charities and fed over 700,000 pets for a day through a pet food bank partnership with Blue Cross.
The company is progressing with a £25m share buyback programme and remains confident of achieving the current analyst consensus for pre-tax profit of around £144m.
Chief Executive Officer Lyssa McGowan said: “We are pleased to have delivered a resilient Q1, with our growth improving through the quarter as our offer continued to resonate well with UK pet owners.
“The benefits of our investments in logistics, stores and digital are coming through, and our unique joint venture vets continued to deliver differentiated performance, growing visits and attracting new customers, driven by our passionate, independent practice owners.
“As ever, it is our people, and their unrivalled expertise, that continue to drive our business. I would like to thank our colleagues and vet partners for their ongoing passion and dedication to creating a better world for pets and the people that love them.”
