// B&M pre-tax profit more than ouble to £525.4m as it adds an extra 43 shops to its portfolio amid Covid1-9 pandemic

// Revenue jump nearly 26% to £4.8bn in the year to the end of March

// However, since the start of current financial year sales have been 1% lower than this time last year

B&M has warned investors to expect a drop in revenue in its current financial year as the company comes off an excellent performance during Covid-19.

The discount retailer said it was already seeing signs of a slowdown compared to the frenzy a year ago in the midst of the pandemic.

Since its financial year ended in late March, sales have been one per cent lower than this time last year.

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It therefore expects to see a decline in like-for-like revenue in the current financial year from B&M’s UK business, but believes it will still be ahead of where it was before the pandemic.

It would be a long way to fall if B&M were to drop back to the performance it saw before Covid-19 hit.

Meanwhile in the year to the end of March, B&M reported a doubling in pre-tax profit to £525 million, and it expanded its portfolio by an extra 43 shops.

Its overall adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS16) increased by 83 per cent year-on-year to £626.4 million.

Revenue rose 25.9 per cent year-on-year to £4.8 billion and the business said it had created around 7200 new jobs in the UK.

In its UK market alone, B&M said full-year revenue was up 29.9 per cent, including like-for-like revenue growth of 23.8 per cent.

The last week of March was the retailer’s best in history, helping to push its results above previous guidance.

“The core B&M UK business, as an essential retailer, traded throughout the year and welcomed a number of new shoppers, with colleagues working tirelessly to maintain on-shelf availability and provide a safe shopping environment,” chief executive Simon Arora said.

“We also made strong progress in France, despite many stores being closed for up to 10 weeks throughout the year.”

He added: “Looking ahead, there are many uncertainties as society slowly emerges from lockdown and trading patterns are likely to be unpredictable for much of the year.”

with PA Wires

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