(Reuters) - Pets At Home (L:PETSP) said on Thursday it expects first-half pretax profit to be sharply lower than last year as the coronavirus-driven jump in demand it saw in the final weeks of the fourth quarter has started to unwind.
The pet supplies retailer's underlying pretax profit rose 11% to 99.5 million pounds for the year ended March 26, as pet owners stocked up on food and basic medicines during a lockdown to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
Online sales have remained at materially higher levels but that alone cannot temper the reduced level of in-store sales, the company said in a statement. It did not provide annual outlook.
The company's shares were 5.7% lower at 219.5 pence by 0715 GMT.
The company, whose stores, website and veterinary practices have stayed open throughout the lockdown, said its full-year sales jumped 10.2% to 1.06 billion pounds.
With many people stranded at home, pet adoption has also surged around the world as people try to cope with isolation. Swiss food giant Nestle (S:NESN) said last month quarterly sales of its Purina Pet care business rose by a double-digit percentage in North America.
Pets At Home said it would pay a final dividend of 5 pence per share, taking the full-year dividend to 7.5 pence per share, the same as last year.