 reported stronger than anticipated figures on Thursday, posting a 1.5 per cent rise in like-for-like sales growth thanks to its expansion into veterinary services){kind=link}
Pets at Home (LON:PETS) reported stronger than anticipated figures on Thursday, posting a 1.5 per cent rise in like-for-like sales growth thanks to its expansion into veterinary services.
Like-for-like revenue growth rose 1.5 per cent, with group revenue up 7.2 per cent to £834.2 million. Services revenue posted the biggest rise, up 44.5 percent on the year before to £117.5 million.
Its recent venture into veterinary services proved a solid boost for the company, with income from joint venture vet practices rising 24.6 per cent to £47.1 million. Pets at Home added that the vet practices have the potential to generate “more than £80 million” when fully mature.
Ian Kellett, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We have delivered a solid performance over the year with profits in line with expectations, reflecting in part the strength of our Joint Venture vet practices where our total income grew 24.6 percent.
“We are uniquely positioned as the only UK pet business delivering an integrated omnichannel and services offer, supported by our fast growing Vet Group, market leading private labels and expert colleagues.
Kellett added that the group was operating in a “resilient” market, forecast to grow at around 4.5 percent over the next five years.
“Whilst in the near term we are repositioning the Merchandise business and investing in the customer, we are seeing results from our actions and believe this will deliver profitable growth benefits in future years”, he concluded.
Shares in Pets at Home are currently up 1.25 percent to 162.20 (0857GMT).