Pets at Home's interim profit edges higher

Pet food, accessories and services retailer Pets at Home said its interim pre-tax profit edged higher thanks to solid demand for products and services.

In the 28 weeks to 8 October, pre-tax profit rose 0.99% year-on-year to £40.9m, held back by costs related to the group’s refinancing programme.

Excluding one-off costs, pre-tax profit rose 11.6% year-on-year to £45.2m, while revenue advanced 6% to £404.5m, driven higher by a 14% jump in sales in the advanced nutrition business and by a 26% surge in services revenue.

Merchandise revenue and food revenue grew 4.1% and 7.1% respectively, while accessories revenue registered only a marginal improvement, as it edged 0.6% higher amid challenging market conditions for its health and hygiene products.

Meanwhile, like-for-like sales rose 1.8% year-on-year, with 11% growth in the services division and 1% growth for the merchandise segment.

The FTSE 250 group said it remains upbeat about its long-term outlook and it was on track to meet its full year goals, adding it will pay an interim dividend of 2p, up 11% year-on-year.

Pets at Home shares were down 1.80% to 278.00p at 1029 GMT on Tuesday.