Although the retail sector seems to be out of favour at the moment, with concerns about the economy and inflation, some companies are still managing to buck the trend and show a decent performance, and I expect Pets at Home (PETS) to fall into that category when it announces its interim results next Tuesday.
Hello Share Squeakers. Every time I visit Pets at Home (PETS) I feel rather poorer. This is not because its prices are comparatively high, but that everything connected to my two cats seems expensive. However, most animal-loving Brits would rather pay more through the nose to pamper their cats than they would their own grandmothers. So Pets at Home should still prosper, even as mortgages soar and the cost of living rises.
Back in July I covered Pets at Home Group (PETS) as a buy based on my opinion that I expected the business to continue performing strongly, as we are a nation of pet-lovers and spending on them would be one of the last things that many people would cut back on. Since then the share price has seen some ups and downs, broadly in line with wider market sentiment, but yesterday it took a bit of a kicking and closed down over 5% at 289p, on a day where the FTSE actually performed reasonably well, after it released its results for H1 2023, up until October 13 2022 and covering a 28 week period. Having looked at the results I can’t really see what the market didn’t like, as they are in line with guidance in terms of full year pre-tax profit expectations on £131 million, with a range of £121-136 million.
Hello Share Takers. From time to time, I urge you to take a look at Pets at Home (PETS). Why? Because the fascination with pets is growing hot and fast. It could be something to do with Covid making folks feel more lonely. Or is it that people are getting fed up with the inadequacies of their human companions? Or it might be that working at home makes it easier to keep a cat or dog.
The way the markets are currently it feels like there is plenty of risk in buying anything, even in the sectors that are expected to remain strong in the coming months.
Hello, Share Thrashers. As predicted here, Pets At Home (PETS) announced a bouncy yearly revenue. It's up by nearly 9%, now standing at £1.1 billion. Not bad for a fairly new retail business. Though we should say that extra covid costs have upset the profit applecart a bit. Underlying gains before tax was a useful £87.5 million, but was still 6.4% worse than the prior year. However, as you might expect, the company is doing better week by week. And that £87.5 million is expected to grow to at least £120 million for the current full year.
Hello, Share Gobblers. The army of dogs on my local beach is truly remarkable. They far outnumber the people. You’ve probably read that in the loneliness of lockdown, pet sales are booming. There’s also sadly a growing trade in dog kidnapping. Meanwhile, a company that’s prospering because of four-legged demand is Pets at Home (PETS)...
