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Pets at Home Group Plc issued a pre-close update for the 52-week period to 26 March 2026, expecting FY26 Group underlying profit before tax (PBT) of c£92m, Retail PBT of c£30m, and Vet Group PBT of c£83m, with non-underlying costs of c£7m. The company expects to finish FY26 with c£20m net debt after returning c£85m to shareholders via dividends and buybacks, and will rebase its dividend to a 50% payout ratio, with the equivalent amount returned via its buyback programme.
| Date | 31 Mar 2026 |
| Time | 07:00:08 |
| Category | Trading updates |
| ID | 7165Y |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 31 MARCH 2026
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION
Pets at Home Group plc, the UK's leading pet care business, is pleased to provide a pre-close update in respect of the 52-week period to 26 March 2026.
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Group underlying profit before tax (PBT) for FY26 is expected to be c£92m, in line with previous guidance. |
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Our 'Retail Turnaround Plan' is progressing and is on track across our 4 priority areas, Product, Price, Execution and Cost. We have implemented our price investments and completed our £20m Group overhead savings, and while the benefits of many initiatives still lie ahead of us, we are encouraged by the progress made. In H2, our Retail business has seen volume growth, and we delivered positive LFL sales growth, as guided, with Q4 improving sequentially over Q3. Retail will deliver underlying PBT of c£30m in FY26. |
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In line with our guidance, Vet Group will deliver PBT of c£83m, a further year of strong profit progress despite the expected slowdown in sales growth as our customer cohorts reach a typical lull in activity. Vet Group performance remains underpinned by growth in average transaction values alongside growth in Care Plan revenues and plans. |
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Non-underlying costs of c£7m have been incurred in the year, in line with previous guidance. |
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We expect to finish FY26 in a net debt position of c£20m, after having returned c£85m to shareholders via dividends and buybacks during the year. |
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Following extensive consultation with our investors, we are rebalancing the way we return cash to shareholders. We will not change the total amount we return to shareholders but we will rebase our dividend to a 50% payout ratio, with that cash 'saving' returned to shareholders via our buyback programme. |
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We welcome the Final Decision Report of the CMA's veterinary services market investigation. We continue to expect no adverse impact on the growth strategy or ambitions for our Vet Group from the outcome. |
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Looking ahead to FY27, at this stage, we have c80% of our energy and FX requirements hedged and are comfortable with current analyst consensus expectations for Group underlying PBT1. |
Our next scheduled update will be our FY26 preliminary results announcement on 27 May 2026.
1. Current analyst consensus for FY27 Group underlying PBT is £99m with a range of £90m - £108m.
Investor Relations Enquiries
Pets at Home Group Plc:
Andrew Porteous, Director of Investor Relations +44 (0) 7740 361 849
Aaron Wood, Head of Investor Relations +44 (0) 7702 083 154
Pets at Home Group Plc:
Natalie Cullington, Head of Communications +44 (0) 7974 594 701
Citigate Dewe Rogerson:
Jos Bieneman +44 (0) 7834 336 650
This trading statement does not constitute an invitation to underwrite, subscribe for, or otherwise acquire or dispose of any Pets at Home Group Plc shares or other securities nor should it form the basis of or be relied on in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. It does not constitute a recommendation regarding any securities. Past performance, including the price at which the Company's securities have been bought or sold in the past, is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. Certain statements in this trading statement constitute forward-looking statements. Any statement in this document that is not a statement of historical fact including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's future plans and expectations, operations, financial performance, financial condition and business is a forward-looking statement. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among other factors, changing economic, financial, business or other market conditions. These and other factors could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described in this statement. As a result, you are cautioned not to place reliance on such forward-looking statements. Nothing in this statement should be construed as a profit forecast.
This announcement contains information that is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK version of Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended (the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR")). Upon the publication of this announcement, such information will no longer constitute inside information. Andrew Porteous, the Company's Director of Investor Relations, is the person responsible for making the notification for the purposes of Article 17 of MAR.