Pets at Home FY 2023 Pretax Profit Fell on Investments, Costs

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By Christian Moess Laursen


Pets at Home said Thursday that its pretax profit fell in fiscal 2023, dragged by costs related to its new distribution centre and higher investments that offset an increase in revenue.

The U.K. pet-care company said pretax profit fell 18% to 122.5 million pounds ($151.5 million) in the year ended March 30, partly due to GBP13.9 million in costs related to the completion of its net distribution centre and a 43% rise in investments.

Underlying pretax profit–which strips out exceptional and other one-off items–rose 4.8% to GBP136.4 million, ahead of guidance, thanks to a strong trading performance, the company said.

Revenue grew to GBP1.40 billion from GBP1.32 billion a year prior, driven by retail revenue rising 5.9% to GBP1.28 billion, helped by good availability and strong pricing power, the company said.

Results in the current financial year have remained strong as sales in the first few weeks has continued at the same rate at fiscal year-end, the company said. For fiscal 2024, the company expects sales to grow in line with it medium-term target of 7%, and underlying pretax profit of around GBP136 million.

Pets at Home said it has proposed as final dividend of 8.3 pence a share, an 11% increase on year, bringing the full-year dividend to 12.8 pence a share, up 9% on the prior year.


Write to Christian Moess Laursen at christian.moess@wsj.com