Pets at Home has reported a strong financial performance across the business with revenues up by 7.1% to £404.7m in its first quarter trading figures.

The UK’s biggest pet retail group has seen continued growth in new customer acquisition and high levels of retention across both retail and veterinary operations. 

The strong performance is a reflection of the growth in pet ownership seen during the pandemic lockdowns, as the company grew membership of its Puppy and Kitten Club.

Lyssa McGowan, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Our performance has remained strong in the first quarter, underpinned by continued customer growth and high levels of retention. 

“We operate a unique omnichannel model, in a market in structural growth, where the passion and expertise of our colleagues and partners is a key competitive advantage. I would like to thank them for their warm welcome, their continued efforts in helping our record number of customers care for their pets in these challenging times, and their ongoing commitment to building the best pet care business in the world.”

The trading statement covers the 16-week period from 1 April to 21 July 2022:

Total Group revenue up 7.1% to £404.7m, with Group like-for-like (LFL) revenue up 6.0%, reflecting broad-based growth throughout the quarter.

• Retail revenue increased by 6.6%, and LFL revenue up 5.6%. All channels remain in growth, with Store LFL of 4.3% and Omnichannel LFL of 13.5%. Omnichannel participation of Retail revenue was 16.7% in the quarter, compared to 15.8% for FY22.
• Vet Group revenue increased by 11.2%, with LFL revenue up 8.6%. LFL customer sales across all First Opinion practices up 4.6% and LFL1 Joint Venture fee income up 9.6%.

Continuing growth in new customers and strong retention of the 1.1m customers acquired last year, combined with the non-discretionary nature of our affordable pet care proposition, supporting ongoing growth in spend.

• Sign ups to our Puppy and Kitten Club continued at pace, averaging 25,000 per week, three-fold higher than pre-pandemic, and creating a 12-15 year growth opportunity over the full pet lifetime.
• New client registrations across our First Opinion veterinary practices remained strong, averaging over 8,500 per week, growing our active client base to 1.7m.
• The number of active VIPs increased 10.7% YoY to a record 7.4m, with our strategic focus on deepening customer relationships resulting in 27% of all VIPs shopping across more than one channel, up 14% YoY.
• The number of subscription plans across the Group grew 16% YoY to over 1.5m, generating over £135m in annualised recurring customer revenue, representing c8% of Group customer revenue.

Good sales to profit conversion as we continue to proactively manage inflationary cost pressures through a planned series of productivity and efficiency initiatives.

Our balance sheet remains robust, with net cash of £40.2m and good liquidity through our recently renewed £300m revolving credit facility until 2027. The vast majority of our currency requirements are hedged over the next 12 months, and we are progressing our previously announced £50m share buy back programme.

No change to sales and margin outlook, and we continue to expect full-year Group underlying pre-tax profit, including the impact of the IAS38 accounting policy change, to be in line with analyst consensus, which is currently £131m, with a range of £127m-£136m.