​B&M reviews German business as profits tumble

The value retailer posted a 70.5% decrease in profit before tax to £32.2m for the 26 weeks to September 29.

The fall in profits was attributed to the German arm of the business – Jawoll – which was impacted by distribution issues and weak sales performance and is now under review by management.

However, group revenue was up 12.4% to £1.8bn – excluding Babou in France, which was acquired after the half-year.

Revenue at its UK stores was up 13.8% including a 3.7% increase in like for likes.

B&M chief executive Simon Arora said: “In Europe, we have seen contrasting performances from Babou in France and Jawoll in Germany. Babou has made good progress with the planned changes to its product offer.

“The performance of Jawoll has continued to be impacted by trading and operational issues and its financial performance remains disappointing. The board is carrying out a strategic review of Jawoll in order to determine its future.

“We are well placed for the golden quarter in our main B&M UK stores business. Despite the continued uncertainty in the economic environment generally, we are very proud to say that each of the top-five store opening days in our history have all been in stores we have opened in the last 12 months.”