Pets at Home Group PLC (LSE:PETS) announced plans for a new £25 million share buyback after what it said was a "foundational year" as sales growth slowed less than expected in the final quarter.
Largely, the preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 28 March were in line with pre-announced guidance from the pets-and-vets chain.
Revenue grew 5.2% to £1.5 billion, while like-for-like revenue was up 5.1%, having slowed to 2% in the fourth quarter in the retail business but accelerated to 18% in vets.
Underlying profit before tax fell 3.2% to £132 million, in line with guidance as the group bemoaned short-term product availability issues.
The total dividend was held at 12.8p per share as a final dividend of 8.3p was repeated the same as a year ago, following a 30% decline in free cash flow to £69 million that was said to reflect "profit shape and the phasing of investments".
There was no change to underlying PBT guidance for the full year.
"Whilst the external trading environment has been subdued, overall pet care spend has proven resilient, and in the year ahead, we should begin to benefit from previous investments and key productivity programs," the FTSE 250-listed company said.
Retail sales were down 2% in the first six weeks of the new year against a strong period a year ago, but dented by disruption from the transition to a new digital app, with "low double-digit growth" in the vet group.
"Market growth in recent quarters has been impacted by easing inflation, continued caution amongst consumers, and the timing impacts of normalised numbers of new puppies and kittens," the group said.
"Importantly through this period we have consistently won share in our key food category, and are currently expecting industry growth to progressively return closer to historic levels over the coming quarters."
The current analyst consensus is for underlying PBT of around £144 million, which management said they are comfortable about.
Analysts at broker Peel Hunt said: "With the CMA investigation casting a shadow, we believe the shares need more positive forecast momentum to garner interest".
Shares were up less than a penny at 284p in early trading.