B&M posts 2% Q1 sales rise as France offsets weaker UK

(Sharecast News) - Retailer B&M reported a 2% rise in first quarter revenue as a strong performance in France offset a 2.3% decline in UK like-for-like sales The lower UK sales were attributed to a slower start to garden and outdoor sales compared with last year, when unusually early warm and dry weather drove 10.9% LFL sales growth, B&M said in a trading statement on Thursday.

"Our first quarter is our seasonally most variable for sales, and the previously mentioned slower start to our garden season against a very strong comparable last year made this especially so in Q1," said CEO Tjeerd Jegen.

"Against this backdrop, the like-for-like sales decline at B&M UK was expected, but it was pleasing to see our general merchandise categories return to growth in May and June, and our garden and outdoor inventories ending the season at normal stock levels."

France LFL sales rose 5.3% to £156m, while the Heron Foods unit delivered growth of 2.6% on the same basis to £142m. Overall group sales increased to £1.4bn.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com