Specialist retailer’s shares go through woof
Shares in Pets At Home surged 7 per cent yesterday as its growing raft of grooming and vet services helped lift Q3 rev‑ enues 9.6 per cent to £223 mil‑ lion.
The specialist retailer’s per‑ formance in the 12 weeks to 4 January was largely attribut‑ able to a 13 per cent jump in its services business to £29.9m.
That included a 19 per cent rise in income from its its joint venture vet practice to £12m. Pets At Home has been expanding its Vets4pets and Groom Room services, with plans to open up to 50 new veterinary sites and about 30 additional grooming salons over the full year.
The group also signalled in its trading update “excellent progress” in its merchandise division, where revenues rose 9 per cent aided by a decision to cut prices.
“With like‑for‑like sales in the pet pampering services division growing at double‑ digit rates, these results go some way to vindicating the strategy,” said broker Har‑ greaves Lansdown.