TIDMPETS
RNS Number : 3831M
Pets At Home Group Plc
21 January 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 21 JANUARY 2021
Pets at Home Group Plc: Q3 FY21 Trading Statement
Accelerating momentum across Retail and Veterinary
operations
Pets at Home Group Plc, the UK's leading pet care business, is
pleased to provide a trading update covering the 12 week period
from 9 October to 31 December 2020, compared to the 12 week period
from 11 October 2019 to 2 January 2020.
Financial highlights
-- Total Group revenue growth of 18.0% to GBP302.0m, with Group
like-for-like(1) (LFL) revenue growth of 17.6%
-- Retail revenue growth of 17.5%, with LFL revenue +17.5% (+25.9% on a 2-year basis), despite COVID-related restrictions on both a regional and national level in the period
-- Retail growth was broad-based across categories and channels,
with Q3 store LFL growth of 12.3% notwithstanding a second national
lockdown in England across four weeks of the quarter. Trading
momentum accelerated across the festive period, with December LFL
+19.3% and cumulative Retail LFL growth for the 44 weeks(2)
commencing 28 February 2020 of 11.8%
-- Omnichannel(3) revenue growth of 70.7% or +91.9% on a 2-year
basis, supported by previous investment in distribution capacity.
Participation of Retail sales of approximately 15% across the
quarter as a whole included 18.0% during the second national
lockdown in England, as customers utilised our one-hour Click &
Collect service from store
-- Vet Group revenue up 22.1%, with LFL revenue growth of 17.8%
across the quarter as a whole and +21.4% in December. LFL customer
sales across all First Opinion practices increased 22.6%, with LFL
Joint Venture fee income up 17.3%, reflecting sustained growth in
new client registrations and helping to drive a continued
improvement in practice profitability
-- Our robust balance sheet was strengthened further in the
period through GBP80m in initial cash proceeds relating to the
completion of the disposal of our Specialist Hospital Division.
Total liquidity as at 31 December 2020, comprising cash balances
and undrawn portion of banking facilities including the additional
GBP100m RCF raised in May 2020, was GBP391.7m
-- Maintain guidance(4) on full-year outlook, as previously
announced on 8 January. Based on trading year to date and assuming
no change in our "essential" designation or recent guidance on
permitted procedures to veterinary clinicians from the RCVS, we
anticipate full-year underlying pre-tax profit, including the
previously announced repayment of business rates relief of
GBP28.9m, of at least GBP77m.
Strategic highlights
-- UK pet care market remains robust with our customer
acquisition and retention strategy continuing to generate strong
growth across all channels:
-- Continued growth in our VIP and Puppy & Kitten clubs with
increasing spend across our pet care platform
- Number of VIP members increased 12.0% YoY to 6.2m, 26% of whom
shopped across more than one channel during the quarter, up 20%
YoY
- 61% of new VIP members in our second quarter shopped again
with us during Q3, with 18% already shopping across more than one
channel
- The number of Puppy and Kitten Club members grew 47.2% in Q3
YoY; Puppy and Kitten Club members typically spend c25% more than
non-members across the Group
- New client registrations across our First Opinion veterinary
practices remained elevated during the quarter, and have averaged
approximately 10,000 per week over the last six months
-- Increasing the visibility, resilience and quality of our sales profile
- Number of subscription customers(5) across the Group is now
over 1.0m, up 17.6% in Q3 YoY, generating on an annualised basis
over GBP85m in recurring customer sales
-- Ongoing investment across all channels to make pet care as
convenient, flexible and engaging as possible:
-- Extended choice and flexibility in meeting our customers' pet
care needs through the launch of a one-hour Click and Collect
service across our 451-strong store estate, and a "Deliver to Car"
service across more than 150 stores
-- Launched two smaller next generation stores in the period
(Camden and Putney), the performance of which will help inform our
decision-making on wider rollout inside the M25
-- Our preparations to mitigate any impact on tariffs,
logistics, vet availability and currency relating to the UK's exit
from the European Union were in place well ahead of the transition
deadline, and we continue to monitor the situation in Northern
Ireland to ensure continuity of supply and the smooth running of
our operations locally.
-- Broadening our capabilities in the provision of trusted advice and pet care solutions
-- Acquired The Vet Connection ("TVC") in November 2020, an
established and successful provider of on demand, high quality,
round-the-clock veterinary telehealth advice, triage and ancillary
services, which can be incorporated into our existing proposition
to help drive new customer acquisition, retention and lifetime
value
-- Completed the disposal of our Specialist Hospital Division in
December 2020 to Linnaeus Group for GBP100m (GBP80m in cash and
GBP20m contingent, deferred consideration), providing significant
additional resource to accelerate growth across our omnichannel pet
care platform.
-- Meeting our obligations as a responsible corporate citizen
-- Pets at Home was ranked 51(st) out of 850 European companies
in the Financial Times Diversity Leaders Report, and had the most
improved rank of all constituents with regard to its focus on
Diversity and Inclusion. Across the Retail sector, Pets at Home was
ranked 7(th) out of a total 85 constituents
-- We pr ovided a further GBP200,000 in support to pet rescue
centres through our charitable foundation, Support Adoption for
Pets, taking the total provided since the onset of the pandemic to
GBP1.3m
-- We were pleased to become a signatory to the British Retail
Consortium (BRC) climate roadmap, as part of a world-leading
industry ambition to reach net zero emissions
-- We announced our decision to voluntarily repay GBP28.9m of
business rates relief received across the business during the
pandemic.
Peter Pritchard, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"Against a backdrop of continued uncertainty our pet care model
remains robust, with our performance during the third quarter
testament not only to the advantages of our scalable omnichannel
pet care platform and unique joint venture veterinary model, but
also the hard work and commitment of all our colleagues across the
Group, to whom I express sincere thanks.
We entered our final quarter facing renewed challenges in the
form of higher COVID infection rates and restrictions on a national
level, and our priority remains the health, safety and wellbeing of
all of our colleagues, partners and customers.
Mindful of this challenging environment, I remain confident that
the changes we have made to our business enable us to continue
providing essential pet care to our customers in a safe and
appropriate manner, not only through strict adherence to the
protocols which we introduced across our stores and veterinary
practices at the onset of the pandemic, and continue to strengthen,
but also in a number of other ways, from contactless collection and
delivery of pet products to virtual heath care consultations.
I am very pleased with the progress we have made in this
quarter, in particular how we have adapted to the changing
environment in which we operate. We remain as determined as ever to
create the best pet care platform in the world, and our strong
liquidity gives us the capacity to make the right investments to
support our ambition".
Conference call
A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at
09.00am today. To join the call in listen-only mode, please click
on the following link ( live webcast ). Those wishing to
participate in the Q&A session should email
petsathome-Maitland@maitland.co.uk for details. A recording will be
available at http://investors.petsathome.com/
Strategic Key Performance Indicators
Q3 FY21 Q3 FY20 YoY change
Number of customer transactions
(m) 45.1 48.4 (6.7)%
--------------------------------------- ---------------------
Customer sales(6) from services(7) 33.0% 35.4% (236)bps
--------------------------------------- ---------------------
VIP customer sales(6,8) (GBPm) 852.6 764.3 11.6%
--------------------------------------- -------- -------- ---------------------
Customer sales(6) per colleague
(GBPk) 141.2 141.8 (0.4)%
--------------------------------------- -------- -------- ---------------------
Number of stores 451 453 (2)
---------------------
Number of grooming salons 315 316 (1)
---------------------
Number of Joint Venture First Opinion
vet practices 393 396 (3)
--------------------------------------- -------- -------- ---------------------
Number of company managed First
Opinion vet practices 47 44 3
--------------------------------------- -------- -------- ---------------------
1. Like-for-like growth comprises total revenue in a financial
period compared to revenue achieved in a prior period, for stores,
omnichannel operations, grooming salons, vet practices and referral
centres that have been trading for 52 weeks or more
2. Retail LFL growth for the 44 weeks commencing 28 February
2020 is provided to illustrate the cumulative growth in our Retail
operations both prior and subsequent to the onset of the
pandemic
3. Defined as orders placed online at petsathome.com and
in-store using our order-in-store service, plus subscriptions to
monthly flea & worm treatments via the 'Subscribe & Save'
platform
4. Refers to financial guidance as disclosed on 8 January 2021,
which was provided on a post IFRS16 basis and stated that full-year
underlying pre-tax profit, including the previously announced
repayment of business rates relief of GBP28.9m, was expected to be
at least GBP77m
5. Defined as customers signed up to a Vet Group health plan, or
omnichannel subscription platforms Easy Repeat and Subscribe &
Save
6. Includes gross customer sales made by JV vet practices,
rather than fee income recognised within Vet Group revenue
7. Defined as gross customer sales made by JV vet practices,
revenue from our Specialist Referral centres and company managed
vet practices, grooming services, subscriptions, pet sales and pet
insurance commissions
8. VIP customer sales are shown on a rolling 12 month basis rather than a year-to-date basis
- End of announcement -
Investor Relations Enquiries
Pets at Home Group Plc:
Roger Tejwani, Director of Investor Relations & External
Communication
+44 (0)1279 927022
Chris Ridgway, Head of Investor Relations
+44 (0)7788 783925
Media Enquiries
Pets at Home Group Plc:
Gillian Hammond, Head of Media & Corporate Affairs
+44 (0)7442 500138
Maitland/AMO:
Clinton Manning
+44 (0)7711 972662
Frederica Bendit
+44 (0)7557 833442
About Pets at Home
Pets at Home Group Plc is the UK's leading pet care business;
our commitment is to make sure pets and their owners get the very
best advice, products and care. Pet products are available online
or from our 451 stores, many of which also have vet practices and
grooming salons. Pets at Home also operates a UK leading small
animal veterinary business, with 440 First Opinion practices
located both in our stores and in standalone locations. For more
information visit: http://investors.petsathome.com/
Disclaimer
This trading statement does not constitute an invitation to
underwrite, subscribe for, or otherwise acquire or dispose of any
Pets at Home Group Plc shares or other securities nor should it
form the basis of or be relied on in connection with any contract
or commitment whatsoever. It does not constitute a recommendation
regarding any securities. Past performance, including the price at
which the Company's securities have been bought or sold in the
past, is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice
should consult an independent financial adviser. Certain statements
in this trading statement constitute forward-looking statements.
Any statement in this document that is not a statement of
historical fact including, without limitation, those regarding the
Company's future plans and expectations, operations, financial
performance, financial condition and business is a forward-looking
statement. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially.
These risks and uncertainties include, among other factors,
changing economic, financial, business or other market conditions.
These and other factors could adversely affect the outcome and
financial effects of the plans and events described in this
statement. As a result you are cautioned not to place reliance on
such forward-looking statements. Nothing in this statement should
be construed as a profit forecast.
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END
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