Pets At Home have today posted full-year retail sales that exceeded a billion pounds for the first time in its 30-year history, riding on a wave of pet adoptions by people stuck at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Work-from-home policies and successive lockdowns led to a surge in animal adoptions during the last year.
Pets At Home's annual retail revenue grew by 8.7% to £1.01 billion for the year ended March 25, 2021, and the company forecast higher profit for the full-year period ending in 2022.
The company, which kept its stores, website and veterinary practices open through repeated lockdowns till early this year, said sales of puppy products grew 26%, while kitten-related item sales rose 37%.
Its veterinary practices signed up an average of 9,000 new customers a week.
The company said underlying profit before tax was 6.4% lower year-on-year at £87.5m after approximately £30m in Covid-related revenue restrictions and costs.
"Through the investments we are making and the enlarged pet population, we see a further £600m customer revenue opportunity over the medium term," chief executive Peter Pritchard said.
Pets At Home, which operates over 450 stores offering pet grooming services and insurance products, said it expects underlying pretax profit for the 53 weeks to March 31, 2022 to be in the range of £120-130m.
