10th Jan 2019 09:04
LONDON (Alliance News) - B&M European Value Retail SA said Thursday like-for-like third quarter sales fell after a tough November, as December and January trading experienced a rebound despite an uncertain environment.
For the 13 weeks ended December 29, revenue grew 12% to GBP1.09 billion from GBP969.8 million the year prior. At constant currency, growth was also at 12%.
On a like-for-like basis, however, B&M UK revenue for the quarter fell 1.6% against a "strong" comparable of 3.9% growth in the year prior.
Nonetheless, in December UK like-for-like sales grew 1.2% after a "difficult" November. This "positive" sales momentum has continued into January, B&M added.
Total revenue was helped by the addition of further stores. During the quarter, the firm added 20 net new B&M stores, nine new Heron Foods stores and three new Jawoll stores.
Gross margin during the three months expanded by 30 basis points, helped by "strong inventory control."
For the nine months ended December 29, reported revenue is 14% higher at GBP2.65 billion from GBP2.32 billion the year before. Like-for-like UK B&M sales were down 0.7% lower.
"Despite the broader economic uncertainty over the last quarter, B&M is on track to deliver a record year for both sales and earnings, representing our fourteenth consecutive year of profit growth," B&M Chief Executive Officer Simon Arora said.
"The business' ability to manage profitability through uncertain trading conditions is testament to the resilience of the business model and the strong operational controls we have in place", Arora added. "We continue to open new stores and win market share when other retailers are retrenching."
"I would like to thank all our colleagues across our UK, German and French businesses for their hard work and commitment over our busiest ever peak Christmas period," Arora continued. "I am pleased by the December trading and the positive momentum with which we enter 2019. We look forward to the year ahead with confidence as our value proposition is clearly resonating with shoppers."
Shares in B&M were 0.6% higher at 312.60 pence on Thursday.
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