(Alliance News) - Pets at Home Group PLC on Thursday maintained its guidance for its current financial year, following growth in revenue for the third quarter.
For the 12-week period to the end of December, the FTSE 250 animal products retailer reported a 18% rise in revenue at GBP302.0 million from GBP255.9 million the same period the year before. On a like-for-like basis, revenue also grew by 18%.
Segmentally, Retail revenue grew by 18% both on a reported and like-for-like basis, shrugging off Covid-19 related restrictions both on a regional and national level during the period, with trading momentum accelerating throughout the festive period.
Meanwhile, Vet Group revenue increased by 22% on a reported basis, and 18% on a like-for-like basis, with higher sales in First Opinion and fee income from joint ventures, reflecting continued growth in new client registrations.
Looking ahead, Pets at Home has retained its guidance for its current financial year, with underlying pretax profit of at least GBP77 million. This would be a 18% drop from GBP93.5 million the year before.
The guidance includes Pets at Home's voluntary decision to repay GBP28.9 million of business rate relief received during the pandemic.
"Against a backdrop of continued uncertainty our pet care model remains robust, with our performance during the third quarter testament not only to the advantages of our scalable omni-channel pet care platform and unique joint venture veterinary model, but also the hard work and commitment of all our colleagues across the group, to whom I express sincere thanks," said Chief Executive Officer Peter Pritchard.
"We entered our final quarter facing renewed challenges in the form of higher Covid infection rates and restrictions on a national level, and our priority remains the health, safety and wellbeing of all of our colleagues, partners and customers," Pritchard added.
Shares in Pets at Home were up 1.8% at 410.59 pence on Thursday in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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