In its preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 26th March 2022, B&M notes a group revenue decline of -2.7% YoY to £4673m – yet this was up +22.5% on a Yo2Y basis.
Gross margin increased slightly YoY in the core B&M UK business, driven by strong performance across general merchandise and a high sell-through rate on seasonal ranges leading to limited markdown activity.
Group adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS16) stood at £619m (down £7m YoY), with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 13.2% – both slightly above expectations.
Group statutory profit before tax remained flat at £525m. A total of 34 new B&M UK stores opened, offset by 14 closures and relocations.
Chief executive Simon Arora says: “The strength and resilience of our business model has enabled us to execute our plans well and continue offering compelling value for money to customers. As a result, we have sustained the step up in sales and profit compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“The retail industry is facing inflationary pressures, whilst our customers are having to cope with a significant increase in the cost of living, making spending behaviour in the year ahead difficult to predict. However, we have seen before that during such times customers will increasingly seek out value for money, and B&M is ideally placed to serve those needs.”
Alex Russo, currently CFO, has been announced as Simon’s successor.