Business
Q3 FY18 trading statement
Q3 FY18 trading statement.
About this update from Pets At Home Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 5922C Pets At Home Group Plc 23 January 2018 \n\n \nPets at Home Group Plc: Q3 FY18 trading statement \nPets at Home Group Plc (\"Pets at Home\") today announces a scheduled trading update for the 12 week period from 13th October 2017 to 4th January 2018, compared with the 12 week period from 14th October 2016 to 5th January 2017. \nFinancial summary\n· Group revenue growth of 9.6% to £223.3m\no Merchandise revenue growth of 9.0% to £193.4m, including omnichannel revenue up 77% to £13m\no Services revenue growth of 13.6% to £29.9m, including Joint Venture vet practice income up 19.3% to £12.1m \n· Group like-for-like revenue growth of 7.2%\no Merchandise like-for-like revenue growth of 6.8%, with good performance in store sales, as well as from omnichannel initiatives - Order In-Store and subscription\no Services like-for-like revenue growth of 10.1%, reflecting strong growth in first opinion and specialist referral vet services\n· All financial guidance*, including gross margin expectations, is unchanged \n* Refers to financial guidance before exceptional items\nOperational summary \n· Excellent progress in Merchandise trading, where price repositioning has continued with the addition of further major brands in both dog and cat Advanced Nutrition\n· New checkout process launched on the mobile website, delivering significantly improved online conversion and customer experience\n· First Opinion vet practices delivering strong growth across both new and mature surgeries\n· Opened two Pets at Home superstores, two Vets4Pets practices and five Groom Room salons. On track to deliver full year opening targets of around 10 superstores, 40-50 vet practices and 20-30 grooming salons \n· The Barkers store trial has reached its conclusion. Existing stores will be closed over the coming year and exceptional costs of c£2m are expected in the FY18 income statement in relation to lease commitments and the write down of fixed assets\nIan Kellett, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:\n\"I'm happy to report further progress in the third quarter, where trading momentum in our Merchandise division built...