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B&M European Value Retail SA on Wednesday said it was ‘well set’ for the years ahead as it reported healthy increases in sales and profit. In the 53 weeks to March 30, the Luxembourg-headquartered variety goods retailer said pretax profit rose 14% to £498 million from £436 million a year prior. Earnings per diluted share rose 5.2% to 36.5 pence from 34.7p. Revenue increased by 10% to £5.48 billion from £4.98 billion a year ago. Comparative figures are for the 52 weeks ended March 25, 2023. Despite this growth, shares in B&M were down 5.3% to 517.54p in London on Wednesday morning. The wider FTSE 100 index was up 0.2%. Revenue in B&M UK climbed 8.5% to £4.41 billion. In France, it surged 19% to £514 million. At Heron Foods, it increased 15% to £560 million. The retailer’s Heron Foods arm largely sells frozen goods. B&M said revenue was driven by like-for-like growth of 3.7% in the core UK business and by new store openings that saw 47 gross new B&M stores open in the UK, 11 in France and 20 in Heron. ‘Importantly, almost half of the B&M openings in the UK were in the fourth quarter, meaning the majority of the benefits to sales, cash and profits will be felt in the current financial year,’ the company pointed out. B&M said the quality of its LFL growth remains ‘high’, being driven by higher volumes and positive customer transactions. B&M said it intends to open between 15 to 20 UK stores in the first quarter of financial 2025 as it continues to progress towards the long-term target for 1,200 B&M UK stores. The company said all fascias are delivering volume growth through both positive LFL customer transaction numbers and new space growth. Chief Executive Alex Russo said it had been ‘another good year for B&M,’ and that the company ‘are well set for the years ahead.’ ‘We have demonstrated strong volume-led momentum in our business throughout our trading history and that has continued, driving our profits ahead of both pandemic and pre-pandemic benchmarks. Despite the more challenging comparatives, with continued new store openings, and a laser focus on low prices and best in class retail standards, we remain confident in our outlook for cash generation and profit growth.’ B&M declared a final dividend of 9.6p per share, bringing the full year dividend to 14.7p, up 0.7% from 14.6p. In addition, the company paid a 20p per share special dividend during the year, as it did the year before. In addition, B&M promoted Tiffany Hall to non-executive chair with effect from July 23. She will succeed Peter Bamford who will retire from the board on that date, at the conclusion of the annual general meeting. Hall has been on the board since 2018. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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