B&M’s revenues bounce as budget retailer maintains post-Covid momentum

Budget retailer B&M’s revenues nudged 0.1 per cent higher in the three months to 25 December, clawing back lost momentum in the previous quarter and boosting full-year earnings forecasts amid the group’s ‘best-ever Christmas’.

B&M revenues reached around £1.4billion in the third quarter, with improved performance in its Heron Foods and French businesses offsetting a dip in UK revenues, as the group hailed ‘strong performance across categories’.

Full-year earnings are now expected to come in between £605million and £625million, ahead of analyst consensus estimates of £578million.

B&M’s UK revenues are up 14% compared to the third quarter of 2019

Within the UK, which is the group’s largest business segment, sales fell by 6.2 per cent on the same time last year to £1.18billion.

It follows a 5 per cent annual decline in the previous quarter for UK revenues, which remain 14 per cent higher than the third quarter of 2019.

Total group revenues were down by £3.3million on the same time last year, but sales in the nine months to 25 December were 0.9 per cent higher than the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, Heron Foods’ revenues grew by £2.3million to £105.2million and French revenues jumped by roughly 30 per cent to £108.8million.

B&M was facing a tough set of comparatives from last year when lockdown allowed it to stay open as an essential retailer and take advantage of a surge in consumer demand for its low-cost products.

The group also reported growth in its high street presence, with its total store count jumping to 1,110 as of 25 December, up from 1,075 in the previous year.

B&M UK store numbers grew from 673 to 693 over the period.

The group’s shares are up 0.8 per cent 639p, bringing performance over one year to 21.8 per cent.

Simon Arora, chief executive, said: ‘The group has delivered a very strong golden quarter, with our two-year like-for-like performance demonstrating strong retention of new customers.

‘Our decision to take receipt of imported Christmas stock early in the season meant we were able to provide customers with great products at great prices.

‘The consistency of performance in the core B&M UK business reflects the growing appeal of our stores as a destination visit for seasonal products, as well as the strength of our supply chain. I would like to thank all of our colleagues for helping to deliver our best-ever Christmas.’

Arora added that the pandemic would continue ‘to create challenges for retailers and consumers alike’, amid ‘ongoing supply chain disruption, inflationary pressures and uncertainty surrounding possible Covid-related restrictions’, he is ‘confident in B&M’s prospects for 2022’.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk