Pets at Home welcomes ‘sustained’ momentum

Pets at Home has welcomed “sustained momentum” across both its retail and veterinary operations in its latest trading update.

The group had previously reported that sales momentum was returning across all areas of the business in its first quarter results published 31 July. 

According to the group, this reflected a “normalisation” of shopping habits, as well as the reinstatement of services and permitted procedures across its business. 

In its latest update, Pets at Home said this momentum has continued across both its retail and veterinary operations during the second quarter of its financial year. 

It comes as the group has delivered double-digit like-for-like growth in customer sales into and through the eight weeks to 10 September 2020.

In a statement, Pets at Home, said: “This is testament to several factors, not least the inherent resilience in our pet care model and the underlying pet care market.  

“We continue to benefit from the adaptability of our operations to changes in customer behaviour and preferences, our continuing investment in omnichannel capacity and customer acquisition channels, and the clear advantages of our unique owner-managed First Opinion veterinary model.”

It added: “Although Covid-19 continues to create a number of material uncertainties around the trading environment, including the risk of a second lockdown, based on trading year to date, and as a consequence of the sustained strength in performance we have seen, we now expect full-year underlying pre-tax profit to be ahead of current market expectations.”

The group will announce its FY21 interim results on 24 November 2020.