Pets at Home ups profit outlook as Christmas sales rise

Petcare retailer Pets at Home has now said its profit before tax for the year could be up to £136m, a £5m increase on its previous guidance of £131, after it secured a record number of shoppers during the golden quarter. 

Pets at Home’s retail revenue increased by 8% of the 12 weeks to January 5, while like-for-like revenue was up 7.6%. The retailer’s consumer revenue, which combines sales across the group including joint venture vet practices, was up 9% year on year, driven by a record number of shoppers and “pleasing volume growth”.

Pets at Home CEO Lyssa McGowan said: “We delivered a really pleasing Q3 with acceleration in sales momentum across the platform. Importantly, the quality of our growth remains strong as we continue to grow volumes and attract new consumers through offering compelling value and service, in what remains a challenging inflationary environment.

“It was particularly pleasing to see our accessories category return to growth, supported by the strong performance in our Christmas range, demonstrating that consumers still want to treat their beloved pets in these challenging times. Our Vet Group continued to grow its client base, adding 8,000 new clients a week in Q3, with annualised average practice revenues now reaching £1.1m.”

The group also announced it had completed its leadership shake-up with the appointment of Kathryn Imrie as chief consumer officer, a “key role” that it said would further integrate its consumer offering. 

McGowan said: “Kathryn will bring a range of critical skills and external expertise into the business. This completes the recent changes to our executive team and marks a step-change in our journey to build a consumer-centric, omnichannel, petcare platform.”

The retailer said it had also made progress across its strategic KPIs: sign-ups to its Puppy and Kitten Club were averaging over 23,000 per week, three-fold higher than pre-pandemic; increased new client registrations across vet GPS grew its active client base to 1.7 million; its loyalty scheme VIPs grew 8% year on year to 7.6 million active members; and the number of subscription plans – which includes grooming and pet insurance among other services – across the group grew 9% to 1.6 million, generating over £135m in annualised recurring consumer revenue.