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B&M European Value Retail SA on Thursday cut its outlook, due to ‘investments in pricing and clearance’ which it believes will benefit the firm in the long-term but cause a short-term hit. The value retailer has looked to ‘reinforce our value proposition with our customers’, Chief Executive Officer Tjeerd Jegen, as the firm set out a trading statement for the third quarter ended December 27, which coincided with the Christmas period. ‘Price investment has continued, particularly in fast-moving consumer goods, and while the full benefits will take time to come through, I am encouraged by the early signs of like-for-like sales growth at B&M UK late in the quarter. This includes the strong sell through of our seasonal ranges,’ the CEO said. Third quarter group revenue rose 2.9% to £1.74 billion on-year, amid 1.9% growth in the UK, an 8.5% improvement in France and a 1.4% rise at Heron Foods. Like-for-like, UK sales were 0.6% lower, Heron Foods down 0.1% but France up 0.4%. B&M is looking at ‘opportunities to make deeper investments in clearing discontinued lines’, Jegen added. ‘As with our pricing actions, these are investments in the long-term strength of B&M, but they do impact near-term financial performance. As a result, we are revising our full-year guidance downwards,’ Jegen said. It now expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation between £440 million and £475 million for the full-year, down from its previous view of £470 million to £520 million. Adjusted Ebitda in financial 2025 amounted to £620 million. ‘The reset we are driving through back to B&M basics is necessary to rebuild the long-term value of the business and these workstreams continue to progress at pace,’ the CEO added. Aside from the investments in pricing and clearance, B&M also but the guidance cut down to the ‘financial underperformance of Heron Foods’. In October, B&M said its chief financial officer was stepping down after the firm identified an accounting error. It identified around £7 million of overseas freight costs not correctly recognised in cost of goods sold, following an operating system update earlier in 2025. The underlying system issue has since been resolved but its financial impact is ‘material to our outlook for FY26,’ the firm said. B&M said Thursday: ‘The board engaged EY to undertake a comprehensive third-party review of the IT systems and balance sheet controls that resulted in the overseas freight costs systems issue. This investigation is now complete and the implementation of the report’s recommendations on specific IT and financial operational processes is underway.’ B&M in November made Helen Cowing as interim CFO, replacing Mike Schmidt. B&M had cut its profit outlook in October amid the accounting woe. Its adjusted Ebitda view before that downgrade was £510 million to £560 million. The firm’s year-to-date revenue stands at £4.49 billion, up 3.6%, it said on Thursday. B&M shares were 2.0% higher at 176.51 pence each in London on Thursday morning. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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