Pets at Home Group PLC (LSE:PETS) shares plunged 18% after the retailer issued a second profit warning of the year and said CEO Lyssa McGowan had left the business with immediate effect.
With the search for a permanent CEO having been launched, it said non-executive chair Ian Burke has taken on the role of executive chair in the interim. McGowan had been CEO since 2022.
In an unscheduled trading update, Pets said its previous guidance assumed 1% growth in the pet retail market that it expected to outperform as investments in digitalisation bore fruit.
However, the past quarter has seen the market remain "subdued", as it had stated in its last update in July, and the rate of improvement in the Pets stores has been below expectations.
Store sales are down 5% year to date, though digital sales have continued to grow at a double-digit rate, supported by a strengthened platform and growth in Easy Repeat subscriptions.
The Vet business has delivered high single-digit sales growth and is on track to open 10 new practices this year, along with 15 vet extensions.
Underlying profit before tax is now expected to be in the range of £90-100 million, down from £110-120 million guidance in July and £115-125 million in May.