Pets at Home VIP customer base grows as total revenues jump

The pet care specialist reported a 7.9% uplift in total group revenue growth for the 16 weeks to July 20, 2023, to £436.8m, with like-for-like sales up 7.9%.

Customer numbers grew as well, with Pets at Home expanding its VIP base by 4% to 7.7 million. Consumer revenue jumped 10.2% to £568.2m – supported by both volume and value growth.

Vet Group revenue was up 16.3% with like-for-like sales up 16.6%, while retail revenue growth was up 7.1% and like-for-likes were up 7.1%.

The retailer said its food category remains in volume growth across grocery and premium categories.

During the period, the retailer opened two new pet care centres with in-store vets and completed nine refits, including its Leeds Birstall Shopping Park branch.

Pets at Home also continued progress in the development of its digital platform, launched its nutrition subscription capability in store, continued the rollout of new freezer space across its estate and made good progress on its sustainability agenda.

The retailer said it had made no change to guidance for FY24, noting that first-half profits will carry additional costs to ramp up its new distribution centre (£6m) and the cost of its brand relaunch (£2m).

Chief executive Lyssa McGowan said: “Our performance in the first quarter has been encouraging. The quality of our growth has remained strong as we grew transaction volumes and continued to acquire new consumers at an impressive rate, as our compelling value, range and service continues to resonate with consumers.

“It has also been a quarter of steady delivery against our strategic plan we set out in May. We have expanded and enhanced our physical estate, made good progress in the development of our digital platform and continued the transition to our new distribution facility, as we execute our ambition to build the world’s best pet care platform.”