B&M profits plunge as UK inflation bites

B&M saw its profits plunge and sales fall “below expectations” as rising inflation continues to hit demand.

The discount chain delivered a pre-tax profit of £431m in the 52 weeks to 29 March, down 13.2% from the £498m it pulled in the year before.

Sales rose 3.7% year-on-year to £5.6bn in the period, which it attributed to the contribution from 70 new stores it opened in the UK and France.

Despite a positive like-for-like performance in France, revenues for its B&M UK business slipped 3.1%.

The retailer blamed the softer sales on “a very subdued garden season, heightened consumer caution, limited real wage growth and the timing of Easter”.

It said B&M UK’s FMCG performance “did not meet our internal expectations” as sales value and units were both negative for the year, while general merchandise trading was “more robust”.

The retailer admitted that its performance for the year “could have been better” and that this is being addressed in current trading plans.

It said that initiatives were in place “to address the underperformance in FMCG categories and drive average selling prices in general merchandise”.

Looking ahead, the retailer plans to open another 45 B&M UK stores this year as it inches closer to its target of at least 1,200 locations nationwide.

B&M is set to welcome its new chief executive Tjeerd Jegen later this month, who brings international retail experience from the grocery, general merchandise and value sectors having worked in leadership roles at the likes of Tesco, Woolworths, Hema.

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