FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 28 JANUARY 2025
Pets at Home Group Plc:
Q3 FY25 Trading Statement
for the
12 week period to 2 January 2025
Full year profit guidance
maintained
Financial Highlights
·
Consumer revenue1
was up by 2.3% to £468.0m. With continued strong growth within the
Vet Group offsetting a softer performance within our Retail
business.
· Total
Q3 Group revenue (0.2%) to £361.6m, with Group
like-for-like2 (LFL) revenue (1.0%).
· Vet
Group Q3 revenue growth remained strong at 21.3% with LFL of 19.9%.
High quality growth continued with Practices seeing double digit
revenue growth supported by growth in subscriptions, visits, and
average transaction values.
· Retail
revenue (2.4%) in Q3 with a (2.8%) LFL. As widely reported across
the consumer sector, Q3 saw a more challenging UK consumer backdrop
with particularly weak footfall from October. At the same time, our
digital performance improved, building momentum through the
quarter, with continued strong growth in subscriptions.
Current trading and outlook
·
Full year underlying PBT
guidance is unchanged. We are on track to deliver modest growth in
underlying PBT this year as set out at our H1 results. Against a
still subdued consumer backdrop, we have maintained a disciplined
gross margin performance, supported by strong Christmas seasonal
sell through, and effectively managed our costs.
· The transition of our online orders to Stafford DC is
underway. We now expect to exit our Northampton DC by the end of
the financial year, completing our network optimisation. As a
result, we now expect non-underlying costs of £11m (previously £7m)
in FY25 due to the phasing of costs associated with our exit from
Northampton and will now incur all outstanding costs associated
with our exit in FY25 (previously expected to continue into
FY26).
·
We expect to finish FY25 with a robust balance sheet after
investing £55m in CAPEX and returning £85m to shareholders via
ordinary dividends and buybacks.
Key Performance Indicators
|
Strategic KPIs
|
|
FY25 YTD
|
FY24 YTD
|
YoY
|
|
Number of active Pets Club
members3 (m)
|
|
8.2m
|
7.8m7
|
5%
|
|
Average Consumer Value4
(£)
|
|
175
|
177
|
-1%
|
|
% of Consumer Revenue from
Subscriptions5 (%)
|
|
12.7%
|
10.0%
|
27%
|
|
Clinical FTE Headcount6
(k)
|
|
3.5k
|
3.3k
|
7%
|
|
1.
|
Consumer revenue includes total revenue across the Group
including consumer sales made by Joint Venture vet practices, and
therefore differs to the fee income recognised within Vet Group
statutory revenue.
|
|
2.
|
Like-for-like revenue comprises total revenue in a financial
period compared to revenue achieved in a prior period, for stores,
omnichannel operations, grooming salons, and vet practices that
have been trading more than 52 weeks prior to both the current and
prior period reporting date
|
|
3.
|
Number of active Pets Club members who transacted across the
group in the last 365 days prior to the end of the reporting
period.
|
|
4.
|
The average spend of active Pets Club members across the group
over the last 365 days based on consumer revenue as defined above,
rather than statutory revenue.
|
|
5.
|
Subscription revenue includes our Flea & Worm, Easy
Repeat, Complete Care and Vac4Life plans and is divided by Group
consumer revenue.
|
|
6.
|
Full time equivalent number of all vets and nurses working
across the group, based on standard working
hours.
|
|
7.
|
Restated from 7.7m reported in Q3 last year
|
Our
next scheduled update will be a pre-close update at the end of
March.
|
Investor Relations Enquiries
|
|
|
Pets at Home Group Plc:
|
|
|
Andrew Porteous, Director of
Investor Relations
|
+44 (0) 7740 361 849
|
|
Aaron Wood, Head of Investor
Relations
|
+44 (0) 7702 083 154
|
|
|
|
|
Media Enquiries
|
|
|
Pets at Home Group Plc:
|
|
|
Natalie Cullington, Head of
Communications
|
+44 (0) 7974 594 701
|
|
Citigate Dewe
Rogerson:
|
|
|
Angharad Couch
|
+44 (0) 7507 643 004
|
About Pets at Home
Pets at Home Group Plc is the UK's
leading pet care business, providing pets and their owners with the
very best advice, products and care. Pet products are available
online or from over 450 pet care centres, many of which also have
vet practices and grooming salons. The Group also operates a
leading small animal veterinary business, with over 440 veterinary
general practices located both in our pet care centres and in
standalone locations. For more information visit:
http://petsathomeplc.com/
Disclaimer
This trading statement does not
constitute an invitation to underwrite, subscribe for, or otherwise
acquire or dispose of any Pets at Home Group Plc shares or other
securities nor should it form the basis of or be relied on in
connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. It does not
constitute a recommendation regarding any securities. Past
performance, including the price at which the Company's securities
have been bought or sold in the past, is no guide to future
performance and persons needing advice should consult an
independent financial adviser. Certain statements in this trading
statement constitute forward-looking statements. Any statement in
this document that is not a statement of historical fact including,
without limitation, those regarding the Company's future plans and
expectations, operations, financial performance, financial
condition and business is a forward-looking statement. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that may cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and
uncertainties include, among other factors, changing economic,
financial, business or other market conditions. These and other
factors could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of
the plans and events described in this statement. As a result you
are cautioned not to place reliance on such forward-looking
statements. Nothing in this statement should be construed as a
profit forecast.
