Pets at Home in healthy state for Q1

Cheshire-based Pets at Home Group is reporting 5% year-on-year revenue growth to £256.5m in the 16-week period to July 20 – the first quarter of its financial year.

Merchandise turnover grew 2.8% to £216.4m and services revenue went up 18.8%, including its joint venture vet practice rose 19.7% to £16.2m.

Chief executive Ian Kellett said: “We are pleased with our positive start to the year, delivered through another period of strong growth in our vet group and further momentum in merchandise trading.

“We have continued our everyday lower price repositioning and reduced the reliance on short term promotional discounts.

“We remain encouraged by the overall response to our pricing changes and by the number of both new customers and those we have welcomed back.

“We have also strengthened our omnichannel capabilities substantially, with subscription services, order-in-store and click & collect performing particularly well. This underlines the importance of our store environment where customers benefit from products, services and colleague advice.

“Whilst it is still early in the year, the financial outlook is in line with our expectations. We are confident the investments we are making to grow our veterinary business and to reposition our pricing and deliver everyday value for our customers are creating a strong platform for sustainable future growth.”