B&M posts strong sales growth despite challenging conditions

Strong sales in the UK have boosted B&M European Value Retail’s total revenues.

The FTSE 250 company issued a trading statement for the 13 weeks to 26 December 2015 on Thursday.

Total group revenue was up 23.5% for the quarter on a constant currency basis from £527.9m in 2014 to £647.8m.

That was boosted by a 24.4% increase in revenue from B&M stores, up from £493.8m to £614.5m due to the group’s successful store opening programme as well as strong Christmas trading.

Jawoll also saw an increase in its quarterly revenues of 7.8%, however it was hit by currency conversions, resulting in 2.1% drop to £33.3m.

Chief executive Simon Arora said it demonstrates the popularity of the group’s model, despite a challenging trading period for the industry in the UK.

“At our Christmas peak, we served over four million customers in a single week and we continue to gain market share.

“The business has delivered a resilient performance through peak trading despite the operational challenges of commissioning two large new distribution centres so late in the year.”

Shares in the group jumped 14.4p (5.61%) to 271.1p at 1020 GMT.