Pets at Home like-for-likes scamper higher

30th Jul 2014 11:02

- Q1 LFL sales up 4.1%- VIP Club membership up 20%- 10 new stores openedLike-for-like sales accelerated at retailer Pets at Home in the first quarter, sending the company's shares scampering higher even though the result was against weak figures the prior year.The like-for-like increase of 4.1% was an improvement on the final quarter of the previous year and well ahead of the 0.2% LFL figure generated during an exceptionally hot period last year.The group, which was promoted into the FTSE 250 in June after its initial public offer in March, said the sales increase was driven by momentum in VIP Club membership, which increased 20% from the year end to 2.4m, as well as strength in Advanced Nutrition and Health & Hygiene products, and continued growth of its veterinary practices and Groom Rooms.During the quarter, Pets at Home opened 10 new stores, 16 vet's practices and 19 Groom Rooms, including 10 veterinary practice and 9 Groom Room retrofits to existing stores. This space expansion behind some analyst expectations, but the company said it remained confident on plans to deliver at least 25 new stores, 60 new veterinary practices and 50 new Groom Room salons in the full year.Chief Executive Nick Wood said: "We are pleased with the start to our financial year, with first quarter like-for-like growth of 4.1%. Our differentiated offering in the pet retail market, an increasingly seamless approach to omni-channel, and growing customer participation and engagement in our VIP loyalty programme continues to drive strong returns. "Looking ahead, we will continue to seize opportunities to grow and develop Pets At Home and focus on the delivery of our strategy. Given the strong first quarter performance, we remain confident in our expectations for the full financial year."Oriel analyst Anjli Shah said the performance was "solid enough" in the face of "an extremely weak comparative" and added that the "real test will begin now as the comparative for the next period gets circa 4% tougher".Shares in the company were up 8.12% to 183.8p at 10:00 on Wednesday. OH