Staff of Reuters Read for 2 minutes (Reuters) – LONDON (Reuters) – In its most recent quarter, B&M, the British discount store, recorded a drop in underlying sales in its home market, a stark contrast to the same period last year, when people stocked up for the first COVID-19 lockdown. The FTSE 100 company, which sells everything from food to homewares, DIY and gardening supplies, said like-for-like revenue at its B&M UK business decreased 4.4 percent in the 13 weeks ending June 26, compared to 24.5 percent increase in the second half of its 2020-21 fiscal year. Like-for-like sales was up 21.3 percent compared to the first quarter two years ago, before the pandemic hampered trading. During the pandemic, the company, whose official name is B&M European Value Retail, has performed admirably. Because it sells food, its stores were allowed to remain open throughout numerous UK lockdowns, and its low prices and out-of-town locations appealed to customers. Trading patterns were turbulent throughout the quarter, according to B&M, with a pull-forward in gardening demand raising revenue in the final two weeks of 2020-21 and the first two weeks of 2021-22, but decreasing revenue in the following weeks. Overall group revenue increased by 3.1 percent in the quarter, according to the company. While it was still too early to forecast potential revenue and profitability results for 2021-22, B&M said it was on track with its targets for the year and expected the two-year like-for-like measure in the core B&M UK business to remain strong. B&M’s stock finished at 577 pence on Wednesday, up 16 percent this year, valuing the company at 5.8 billion pounds ($8 billion). (1 dollar = 0.7256 pounds) James Davey contributed reporting, and Alistair Smout edited the piece./n
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