Dog owners are pampering their pets more than ever before, helping Pets at Home to record a boost in sales, including its grooming and vet business, which jumped 27%.
The retailer, which has been one of the stock market pups since it listed earlier this year, attempted to allay investors’ fears as it announced that first-half sales were up 10.2% from the same period a year earlier at £381.5 million, and pre-tax profits had nearly doubled from £21.3 million to £40.5 million.
Shares continue to trade about 17% down on its 245p listing price. Today they were around 203p — up 1.1p. However, chief executive Nick Wood insisted the business was on track. He said: “I don’t think anything has gone wrong. If you look at what we delivered, we’ve done everything we said we would. We are in it for the long term and I believe value will come with long-term performance.”
The company introduced an interim dividend for the first time today of 1.8p, and said its growth plans continue, with 15 stores planned over the next six months, following 10 openings earlier this year.
Wood said he was not concerned about the threat of supermarkets and revealed the bulk buys at Pets at Home and the retailer’s focus on expensive nutritional pet food set it apart. He added that the warm weather had hit sales of dog coats, but that was offset by an increased need for flea treatments.
