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PETS At Home(PETS) Fundamentals

StockMarketWire.com
Pets at Home said total revenue grew 6.0% to GBP404.5m in H1, with contributions from services and veterinary practices up 26.2% to GBP41.9m and up 20.7% to GBP18.4m respectively. Merchandise revenue gained a more muted 4.1% to GBP362.6m.

CEO Nick Wood commented:
"We remain pleased with the growth of Advanced Nutrition, vet and grooming services during the first half of the financial year, supported by growing maturity in the VIP loyalty scheme.

"Whilst trading in parts of the business has been weaker than expected, the core strategic drivers are performing well and in order to support their growth, we continue to invest in our colleagues and seamless shopping experience.

"As we highlighted previously, profit growth will be weighted to the second half, as the strong Health & Hygiene comparatives ease. Our full year profit outlook is broadly in line with market expectations."

What do you expect share price to do......
From a share that has been rump by Midas
Director selling 3 weeks before update - 118K
Institution selling the big stake that was holding
Market cap twice the revenue
Group gross margin 54.2%
Historic PE well above 20.........
Share price down of course 290.85p -20.35 (-6.54%)

Reasonable support @ 265p, Needs to get a wriggle on to get back above 200DMA. Interim next Tuesday 24th. Watching, could go either way.

Half Yearly Report

H1 FY16 financial highlights

· Total revenue growth of 6.0% to £404.5m
o Merchandise revenues up 4.1% to £362.6m: Food revenues up 7.1% to £202.1m, with Advanced Nutrition growing 13.7% to £85.8m. Accessories revenues up 0.6% to £160.5m, offset by continuing challenge to Health & Hygiene product sales
o Services revenues up 26.2% to £41.9m, reflecting growth in both mature and maturing vets and groomers, and good performance from Northwest Surgeons, our specialist referral hospital acquired at the start of the financial year

· Like-for-like sales growth of 1.8%
o Merchandise like-for-like revenue growth of 1.0%
o Services like-for-like revenue growth of 10.5%

· Gross margin of 54.1%, +27bps on the prior year; reflecting strong margin expansion in both Merchandise and Services

· EBITDA growth of 5.1% to £60.7m and margin 15.0%

· Basic EPS of 7.2 pence, growth of 13.4%

· Free cashflow of £29.5m, conversion of 47%, compared with the prior year at 38%

· Interim dividend of 2.0p per share, growth of 11.1%

H1 FY16 operational highlights

· Space rollout on track
o Added 6 Pets at Home stores: total 405
o 2 Barkers stores, bringing the trial format to a total of 3
o Opened 15 veterinary practices: total 353
o Opened 10 grooming salons: total 190

· VIP Club reached 3.9m members, up from 3.2m at the end of FY15

· Website orders for collection in-store increased to over 45% of total online revenues

Trading Statement

Q3 FY16 financial summary

· Like-for-like sales (LFL) growth of 2.2%*
o Merchandise LFL growth of 1.7%*, with strength in Advanced Nutrition, omnichannel and recovering sales in Health & Hygiene
o Services LFL growth of 8.5%*, driven by strong performance in vet and grooming services
· Total revenue growth of 7.1% to £195.1m
o Merchandise revenues up 5.4% to £177.3m
o Services revenues up 27.4% to £17.8m, with fee income from Joint Venture veterinary practices up 16.3% to £7.5m
· Financial outlook for FY16 remains in line with current expectations

*Q3 FY16 benefits from one fewer bank holiday than the prior year, closing on New Years Eve, compared with Q3 FY15 which closed on New Years Day when the majority of stores are closed. Our LFL growth calculation removes this benefit and compares the 12 weeks from 9 Oct 2015 to 31 Dec 2015, with the 12 weeks from 9 Oct 2014 to 31 Dec 2014

Q3 FY16 operational summary

· Store and services openings
o 7 Pets at Home superstores
o One Barkers store in Sevenoaks, Kent
o Launch of a trial format in Dorking, branded 'Whiskers 'n Paws by Pets at Home.' A local High Street store focused on dog and cat owners, with a Groom Room salon
o 15 grooming salons and 6 veterinary practices
o On track to deliver FY16 rollout targets: 20-25 Pets at Home stores, 5 Barkers, 50-55 vet practices and 55-60 grooming salons
· VIP club
o Total members of 4.2m, an increase of over 250,000 since Q2 FY16
o Card swipe rate at store tills 64% of revenues, compared with 61% in the prior year
· Post period end, acquired Anderson Moores, a specialist veterinary referral hospital based in Winchester, Hampshire. Anderson Moores will operate as a standalone brand in the Vet Group, as a shared venture model through which the existing shareholders retain significant equity ownership

Final Results

Pets at Home Group Plc: Q1 FY17 Trading Statement

A solid start to the year with continued momentum across all strategic categories

Pets at Home Group Plc, the UK's leading specialist retailer of pet food, pet accessories, veterinary and grooming services, today announces a Q1 FY17 trading update. This represents the 16 week period from 1st April 2016 to 21st July 2016, compared with the 16 week period from 27th March 2015 to 16th July 2015.

Financial summary

· Group like-for-like revenue growth of 2.7% driven by Advanced Nutrition, omnichannel, vet and grooming services, alongside a return to positive sales growth in Health & Hygiene products
o Merchandise like-for-like revenue growth 2.2%
o Services like-for-like revenue growth 7.5%

· Total revenue growth of 8.9% to £244.2m
o Merchandise revenues up 4.9% to £210.5m
o Services revenues up 43.4% to £33.7m, reflecting Joint Venture vet practice fee income up 22.5% to £12.4m and the contribution from newly acquired specialist referral centres

Operational summary

· Opened 4 Pets at Home stores, 3 Vets4Pets practices and 6 Groom Room salons

· VIP club active members 3.5m, an increase of around 200,000 since FY16 year end. Card swipe rate at store tills 65% of revenues, compared with 64% in Q4 FY16

· Launched a monthly subscription service for flea treatment products

· VIP App now live, removing the need for customers to carry their VIP card

Ian Kellett, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are pleased with our positive start to the year, delivered through consistent performance in our core strengths of Advanced Nutrition, vet and grooming services, with a continued underpin from the growth in sales to our VIP members.
Whilst the consumer outlook is uncertain, we remain confident in our long term strategy and are reassured by the historical resilience of the pet market in times of economic downturn.
Our full year outlook remains in-line with market expectations."

On watch list, looking for a bounce here. AGM/EGM Wed 14/09/16

LATEST BROKER VIEWS

Date Broker New target Recomm.
5 Aug HSBC 295.00 Buy
4 Aug Liberum Capital 200.00 Sell
5 Jul Liberum Capital 200.00 Sell
27 May Beaufort... N/A Buy
24 May HSBC 340.00 Buy
12 May Panmure Gordon 271.00 Buy
3 May Beaufort... N/A Buy
22 Apr Beaufort... N/A Buy
19 Apr HSBC 340.00 Buy
13 Apr HSBC 340.00 Buy
Broker Recommendations for Pets At Home Group

LATEST BROKER VIEWS

Date Broker New target Recomm.
12 Sep Citigroup 275.00 Buy
5 Aug HSBC 295.00 Buy
4 Aug Liberum Capital 200.00 Sell
5 Jul Liberum Capital 200.00 Sell
27 May Beaufort... N/A Buy
24 May HSBC 340.00 Buy
12 May Panmure Gordon 271.00 Buy
3 May Beaufort... N/A Buy
22 Apr Beaufort... N/A Buy
19 Apr HSBC 340.00 Buy

Appointment of Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker

Pets at Home Group Plc, the UK's leading specialist retailer of pet food, accessories and services, today announces that Numis Securities Limited has been appointed Joint Financial Adviser and Joint Corporate Broker alongside Bank of America Merrill Lynch, with immediate effect.

Half Yearly report

· Robust Group LFL revenue growth of 2.5%
· Good performance in strategic drivers: fee income from Joint Venture vet practices up 23.6%, Services LFL growth 8.7%, Advanced Nutrition revenue growth 6.5%
· Space rollout on track: 8 new superstores, 17 vet practices and 18 grooming salons. 49% of superstores now have both a vet practice and grooming salon
· Seamless shopping omnichannel investment delivering results with order volumes and basket spend increasing
· Strong dividend growth of 25.0%, in line with our increased dividend payment policy which commenced at FY16 year end

Goldman Sachs Neutral 0.00 275.00 235.00 Downgrades

Trading Statement

Pets at Home Group Plc, the UK's leading pet business, today announces a scheduled trading update for the 16 week period from 31st March to 20th July 2017, compared with the 16 week period from 1st April to 21st July 2016.

Financial summary

· Group revenue growth of 5.0% to £256.5m
o Merchandise revenue growth of 2.8% to £216.4m
o Services revenue up 18.8% to £40.1m, including Joint Venture vet practice income up 19.7% to £16.2m

· Group like-for-like revenue growth of 2.7% reflecting strong growth in first opinion and specialist referral vet services, and a continuation of positive momentum in Merchandise trading
o Merchandise like-for-like revenue growth 1.5%
o Services like-for-like revenue growth 10.5%

· Merchandise price investment and operational cost savings tracking in line with plan. Profit outlook for FY18 in line with our expectations

Operational summary

· Good progress with Merchandise initiatives
o Everyday lower price repositioning continues with the addition of another major Advanced Nutrition dog food brand, James Wellbeloved. This follows the positive customer response to price changes earlier in the year across veterinary diets, private label dog Advanced Nutrition, pet essentials and Hills Science Plan
o Strong omnichannel revenue growth of 80%. Around 60% of omnichannel revenues now involve colleague assistance or the use of a Pets at Home store, through our Click & Collect, Order-In-Store and subscription services
o Launched a second product on our licensed medicine 'Subscribe and Save' service with Frontline Plus
· Vet Group continues to demonstrate good momentum across the business
o Growth supported by excellent performance from specialist referral centres
o Successful TV campaigns and promotion of our 'Best Start in Life' care plan driving high new client registrations for first opinion practices
· Opened 5 Pets at Home superstores, 2 Vets4Pets practices and 6 Groom Room salons. On track to deliver full year opening targets of around 10 superstores, 40-50 vet practices and 40-50 grooming salons

Ian Kellett, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are pleased with our positive start to the year, delivered through another period of strong growth in our Vet Group and further momentum in Merchandise trading.
We have continued our everyday lower price repositioning and reduced the reliance on short term promotional discounts. We remain encouraged by the overall response to our pricing changes and by the number of both new customers and those we have welcomed back.
We have also strengthened our omnichannel capabilities substantially, with subscription services, Order-In-Store and Click & Collect performing particularly well. This underlines the importance of our store environment where customers benefit from products, services and colleague advice.

Whilst it is still early in the year, the financial outlook is in line with our expectations. We are confident the investments we are making to grow our veterinary business and to reposition our pricing and deliver everyday value for our customers are creating a strong platform for sustainable future growth."

Conference call
A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 8.30am today. To join the call, please dial +44 20 3059 8125 and quote 'Pets at Home'. A recording will be available for seven days on + 44 121 260 4861 (passcode: 6791350#) and at http://investors.petsathome

Financial calendar

Pets at Home will host an investor and analyst day on 21st September 2017.
FY18 Interims will be announced on 28th November 2017.

Beaufort Securities Buy 190.85 - - Retains

Berenberg Buy 195.50 180.00 230.00 Upgrades

Q3 FY18 trading statement.

Pets at Home Group Plc ("Pets at Home") today announces a scheduled trading update for the 12 week period from 13th October 2017 to 4th January 2018, compared with the 12 week period from 14th October 2016 to 5th January 2017

Financial summary

· Group revenue growth of 9.6% to £223.3m

o Merchandise revenue growth of 9.0% to £193.4m, including omnichannel revenue up 77% to £13m

o Services revenue growth of 13.6% to £29.9m, including Joint Venture vet practice income up 19.3% to £12.1m

· Group like-for-like revenue growth of 7.2%

o Merchandise like-for-like revenue growth of 6.8%, with good performance in store sales, as well as from omnichannel initiatives - Order In-Store and subscription

o Services like-for-like revenue growth of 10.1%, reflecting strong growth in first opinion and specialist referral vet services

· All financial guidance*, including gross margin expectations, is unchanged

* Refers to financial guidance before exceptional items

Operational summary

· Excellent progress in Merchandise trading, where price repositioning has continued with the addition of further major brands in both dog and cat Advanced Nutrition

· New checkout process launched on the mobile website, delivering significantly improved online conversion and customer experience

· First Opinion vet practices delivering strong growth across both new and mature surgeries

· Opened two Pets at Home superstores, two Vets4Pets practices and five Groom Room salons. On track to deliver full year opening targets of around 10 superstores, 40-50 vet practices and 20-30 grooming salons

· The Barkers store trial has reached its conclusion. Existing stores will be closed over the coming year and exceptional costs of c£2m are expected in the FY18 income statement in relation to lease commitments and the write down of fixed assets

Ian Kellett, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"I'm happy to report further progress in the third quarter, where trading momentum in our Merchandise division built over the Christmas period. In the year since we launched our lower pricing initiatives we have seen a really strong customer response to the investments we have made. At the same time, we continued to deliver strong growth in our veterinary business across both first opinion practices and specialist referral centres. Thanks again to colleagues across the Group who worked incredibly hard to deliver this result.

We again saw the benefits of our omnichannel capabilities, providing customers with innovative and convenient ways to shop, particularly through Order In-Store and subscription services. This unique combination of capabilities are brought to life by our store colleagues who provide the friendly expertise, advice and service that our customers really value."

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