B&M ups guidance on strong UK trading

The discount retailer said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation would be between £590m and £620m in the year to the end of March. In January B&M said it expected earnings between £540m and £570m after a busy third quarter.

"Revenues and margins have remained strong over Q4 to date, particularly in the group's B&M fascia business in the UK," the FTSE 100 group said in an update. The figures include B&M's decision to pay £80m of UK business rates voluntarily.

The general retailer's sales have boomed during the Covid-19 crisis with its stores open as a seller of essential goods during lockdowns. It has also benefited from having shops in retail parks away from town centres, which have been busier than high streets and shopping centres.

B&M said forecasting would soon become more difficult as sales are compared with consumer stockpiling in mid-March 2020 and with uncertainty surrounding the impact of changes to restrictions in 2021. B&M shares, which hit a record of 580p in February, were little changed at 544p at 08:25 GMT.