11th Jun 2020 09:37
(Alliance News) - B&M European Value Retail SA on Thursday expressed confidence going forward amid a moderate increase in its profit in the most recently ended financial year.
The discount shop chain said pretax profit for the 52 weeks ended March 28 grew by 3.2% to GBP252.0 million compared to GBP244.3 million reported a year earlier, as revenue increased by 17% to GBP3.81 billion from GBP3.27 billion.
B&M said it had made progress in France during the year, with 19 Babou stores out of a total estate of 101 stores now trading under B&M brand, but the controlled testing of the performance of the converted stores was subsequently interrupted by the eight-week Covid-19 closure period until May 11.
In addition, the company said 36 net new B&M UK fascia stores opened in the period and a further 30 net new store openings are planned for financial 2021.
The rate of new openings for its current financial year has been held back by disruption from Covid-19, B&M said, but its overall long-term target of at least 950 B&M stores in the UK remains unchanged. That would be up from about 600 currently.
B&M upped its final dividend to 5.4 pence per share from 4.9p paid a year earlier, bringing full year payout to 8.1p per share, being an increase of 6.6% year-on-year.
Looking ahead, the company said its trading since the end of its most recent financial year has been "strong".
"The challenges posed by the virus have been beyond anything we have experienced before; they have tested every aspect of the way we do business in recent weeks and I'm pleased to say that B&M is coming through the crisis well because of the strength of the B&M proposition and the way our team has responded to those challenges," said Chief Executive Simon Arora.
"I am however confident though that B&M with its modern network of mostly out-of-town stores, well-invested infrastructure and value-led variety offer is well positioned to support the communities in which we trade for whatever lies ahead," added Arora.
B&M shares were trading 6.7% lower in London on Thursday at 354.40p each.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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