Pets at Home sees FY in line as third-quarter revenue falls

(Sharecast News) - Pets at Home on Wednesday said it expected full-year underlying earnings to be in line with expectations despite a fall in third quarter revenues. The ailing retailer, currently still waiting for a chief executive and financial boss to arrive in the spring, said retail consumer revenue fell 1.1% in the three months to January 1, while its veterinary services business, Vets for Pets, performed strongly with a 5% rise. Group revenue was down 1% to £358m.

Current consensus forecasts are for underlying pre-tax profit of £93m with a range of £90m-97m. Interim earnings slumped more than a third after retail profits plunged 84%, forcing the company to implement a £20m cost-cutting programme.

"One of our key early actions as part of this plan included investing in our customer offer, reducing the price of over 1,000 products by an average of 12%, ensuring our customers know they can trust us to provide great value for them and their pets," said interim chair Ian Burke.

The veterinary sector is under pressure over claims pet owners are paying too much for treatments and drugs. In October the UK competition watchdog put forward 21 proposed measures, including a cap on the cost of providing prescriptions, after an investigation it began last year found prices for services had increased by 63% between 2016 and 2023.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com