Top story
Pets at Home has warned investors it is expecting profits to fall next year, with retail sales showing little sign of improvement.
In a pre-close statement ahead of its annual results, the pet retailer said difficult market conditions plus £20m in extra costs from new taxes and regulations meant its pre-tax profits were set to plunge to between £115 and £125m in the next financial year.
That’s a fall from around £133m in the year to 27 March, the company said.
The retailer is also cutting capital investment to back below £50m “having gone through a period of significant change in the business over the past two years.”
Pets at Home’s share price is down over 20% in the past six months since it warned in November of a “unusually subdued” pet retail market.
In January, the group highlighted “particularly weak” footfall from October onwards that meant a fall in retail sales over the Christmas quarter.
Its vet business remains relatively strong, with profits set to grow both this year and next.
The company’s full year results are due 28 May.
Morning update
The Artisanal Spirits Company returned to profit last year thanks to its acquisition of US independent bottler Single Cask Nation.
The Scottish whisky business bought Single Cask Nation in January 2024 to allow it to “take greater advantage of the sizeable and growing American whiskey market”.
This helped boost its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation to £1.1m in the year to 31 December, up from a £500k loss the year before.
This was “a record performance which was slightly ahead of market expectations”, the company said. Its revenue was broadly flat at £23.6m.
Membership of its Scotch Malt Whisky Society grew 4% to 43k, with the UK’s numbers up 10%. Asia also saw strong growth, led by a 24% rise in China and a recently added Korean franchise.
The week ahead
It’s a quiet week on food and drink markets.
On Tuesday, the British Retail Consortium releases its latest shop price index, while Thursday will see a trading update from Moonpig plus Chapel Down’s final results.
No comments yet