Pets at Home Group PLC (LON:PETS) reported record results for the past year as UK pet ownership stepped up a level in the pandemic, and the retailer said it expects further strong growth in the new year.
For the past year ending 25 March, revenue grew 8% to £1.14bn, including retail revenue topping £1bn for the first time, helped by an estimated 8% increase in pet ownership over the past year.
Underlying profit before tax fell 6.4% to £87.5mln, which as seen with many retailers, reflects higher costs stemming from the pandemic.
Although underlying free cash flow declined by a quarter to £67.4mln, a final dividend of 5.5p was declared, meaning the total dividend for the year was 8p per share, up 7% on the prior year.
With veterinary, grooming and insurance services all part of the wider group offer, management said the increase in pets has raised the outlook for growth across its addressable market, where it expects to continue winning market share.
Considering the ongoing momentum and the impact of the pandemic on operating costs, management guided to underlying pre-tax profit for the new 53-week financial year to 31 March 2022 of £120-130mln, which would be an increase of at least 37%.
“COVID-19 has structurally changed the dynamics of the pet care market,” said chief executive Peter Pritchard.
“We estimate that the rising level of pet ownership, combined with structural demand drivers such as premiumisation and humanisation, has increased the outlook for growth across our addressable market, and in conjunction with our expectations of continuing to take market share, provides a tailwind to the £600mln [of extra] customer revenue opportunity we see across our business over the medium term.”