THE Covid boom appears to be over for Pets At Home as its annual profits slumped 14 per cent to £106million.
The retail chain enjoyed a good pandemic as Britain’s cat and dog population soared by five million to 23million.
Now, the brakes are back on — although the pet supplies and vet business blamed teething problems at a giant new Stafford distribution centre.
Boss Lyssa McGowan told The Sun the problems led to almost two months supply disruption for its stores. “Despite that and a slightly slower Christmas than we’d hoped for, it was a resilient year,” she said.
Her positive view is backed by sales figures which climbed 5.2 per cent to £1.5billion for the year to March, with group like-for-like revenue up by 5.1 per cent.
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And the company’s new digital platform had performed better than expected, she said.
“It’s a huge part of our future. It links up our stores and vets with our customers.”
The company continued to expand, adding three new vet practices and five new pet care centres in the year.
Last week, it welcomed a Competition and Markets Authority investigation into pet prices, which analysts had suggested added some uncertainty to the business’s future.
Ms McGowan said she had nothing to fear from a fees clampdown as the company’s local operators set their own rates, not head office.
AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth said: “By offering everything under one roof, including grooming and vets, Pets at Home hopes to drive loyalty and bat off the competitive threat from supermarkets.”
A Swift £700million
TAYLOR Swift is tipped to bring a £700million boost to the economy when her Eras Tour arrives in Britain next week.
More than a million people have snapped up £345million of tickets for the 15 concerts.
They will also spend £143million on travelling to the concerts in London, Liverpool, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
Another £78million will be spent on food and drink, according to discount website VoucherCodes.
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Fans are expected to spend £31.5million on clothing, £15million on accessories, £12.2million on footwear, £5.4million on make up and even £12.4million on NFL merchandise as they back Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many Taylor Swift fans, so it’s no wonder they’re willing to go all out,” said Anita Naik, VoucherCodes savings expert.
Mega bid mine deal on brink
A £39billion merger which would have created the world’s biggest copper miner was on the brink last night.
UK’s Anglo American rejected a call by Australia’s BHP to extend the deadline for a final offer past Wednesday.
BHP, which has seen three bids rejected, put forward a number of “socioeconomic measures” to ease concerns over its bid. But Anglo American, which is smaller than its rival, said “BHP has not addressed the board’s fundamental concerns”.
BHP first offered a £31.1bn takeover at the end of April.
When that was rejected it came back with a £34bn offer at the start of May before raising it to £38.6bn last week.
In the meantime Anglo announced plans to break up major parts of its business — including exiting diamond, platinum and coal mining — and slowing down development of a £7bn North Yorkshire fertiliser mine.
Hit the brakes
UK car production has fallen for a second month as makers prepare for new models.
The Society OF Motor Manufacturers And Traders said 61,820 cars were built in April, down by 7 per cent on the same month last year.
Just over 14,000 cars were built for the UK, an increase of almost a fifth, but there was a 13 per cent fall in production for overseas buyers to 47,799 units.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Another month of falling UK car production was expected.”
