Pets at Home: the financial year in a nutshell
The UK pet retailer earned 6.5% more in the 12 months to March 2023 and plans to go bigger in digital.
Pets at Home hit revenue of £1.4 billion ($1.7B/€1.6B) in its FY 2023, concluding on 30 March 2023. In 2022, the financial year revealed revenue of £1.3 billion ($1.6B/€1.5B).
The performance of its vet business increased by 13.3%, delivering in excess of £10 million ($12M/€11M) in consumer revenue per week. The sales from retail increased by 5.9% in the period, with all channels contributing to that growth.
“Our record performance over the past year demonstrates that our compelling pet care offer continues to resonate strongly with consumers,” said Pets at Home CEO Lyssa McGowan.
The British retailer claims it sold 22% of the £3.4 billion ($4.2B/€3.9B) UK pet food market in the year, reaching £647 million ($800M/€749.2M).
Profit Before Tax (PBT) accounted for £122.5 million ($155.5M/€141.1M) in FY 2023. This was down 17.7% but reflected the sale of its specialist practices and the costs of a new distribution center.
The Pets at Home VIP base hit 7.7 million in the year, up from 4.4 million at the end of FY 2019. The results showed an average of 24,000 new Puppy & Kitten sign-ups and 8,500 new vet clients per week.
Online operations
The company claims to have a 24% share of the £7.2 billion ($8.9B/€8.3B) UK pet care market, up from 17% in FY 2017. Although the number of shops remained at 457, the same number as the previous year, it opened 2 new grooming salons in the period.
In total, the retailer recorded 73 million transactions in the 12 months to March, of which 8.9 million were made online.
Over the next 2 years, Pets at Home plans to relaunch its online shopping platform and create a way to book pet care appointments with ease through a single booking engine.
The company also aims for an integrated pet care experience for the user, bringing together everything the customer needs powered by data and artificial intelligence (AI).
The future
The British retailer group expects revenue to grow in line with its medium-term ambition of 7% per year. It is confident to post a profit of between £127 million to £142 million ($157M/€146M to $175M/€163M) in 2024.
CEO Lyssa McGowan added that their strategy is to create “the world’s best pet care platform” by investing £400 million ($494M/€461M) over the next 5 years.
McGowan also commented about the company’s recent investment in the cultivated meat brand Good Dog Food in line with the company’s long-term sustainable food strategy.
“By leading in sustainable pet food, evidenced by our investment in the Good Dog Food company, we can help to move the industry to a future with lower carbon emissions and improve biodiversity.”
