Pets at Home, the UK’s biggest pet retail group, has seen group revenue increase by 8.8% to £347.5m in its third-quarter report, with latest financial figures showing record Christmas sales.
Retail revenue increased 8%, or 7.6% on a like-for-like basis, including a record trading day of over £8m on 23 December and growth in all categories. It was helped by an average of over 23,000 new members per week signing up for its Puppy & Kitten Club and owners treating their beloved pets at Christmas.
Meanwhile, the vet business increased revenue by 18%, with sales in general practices recently passing £10m in a single week for the first time. It now has a client base of more than 1.7 million, with new registrations averaging 8,000 per week in the quarter.
This strong performance has led management to increase full-year profit guidance to the upper end of the current market range of £126m-£136m, ahead of previous guidance of £131m.
Lyssa McGowan, CEO, said: “We delivered a really pleasing Q3 with acceleration in sales momentum across the platform. Importantly, the quality of our growth remains strong as we continue to grow volumes and attract new customers through offering compelling value and service, in what remains a challenging inflationary environment.
“Creating a better world for pets and the people that love them lies at the heart of our strategy, and I am proud that alongside delivering for our customers, we also raised an incredible £2.1m for charities through our annual Christmas fundraiser, Santa Paws.”
Key figures in the financial statement:
- Group revenue increased 8.8% to £347.5m, with growth ahead of medium term ambition
- Consumer revenues up 30% vs pre-pandemic underpinned by record number of consumers and pleasing volume growth
- Retail revenue increased 8% and included a record trading day of over £8m
- The Vet Group saw revenue increase by 18.1% - with general practices breaking the £10m weekly sales barrier for the first time
- Puppy and Kitten Clubs sign ups continued at pace, averaging over 23,000 per week, three-fold higher than pre-pandemic
- New client registrations across Vet Group general practices remained strong, averaging 8,000 per week, growing the active client base to 1.7m
- Expect FY23 Group underlying PBT towards the upper end of the current consensus range of £126m - £136m, ahead of previous guidance of c.£131m
