Poundland owner Pepco said it had faced a challenging macro environment (Victoria Jones/PA)
(Picture: PA Archive)Poundland owner Pepco has singled out the UK as particularly hit by the cost-of-living crisis that has “impacted customers’ disposable income” as they “scale back even on essential purchases in the short term”.
The group said it had been “supported by a positive Easter performance” and that its trading had now returned to “pre-Covid levels” on the release of its interim results today and that for the half year ending 31 March revenue had climbed an impressive 18.9% from €2 billion (£1.7 billion) to €2.37 billion. Like for like sales climbed 5.3%.
Profits before tax were €144 million for the period up from €112 million a boost of 28.5%. The company also boosted its store numbers from 3,246 to 3,696 a rise of 13.9%.
Pepco said that it remained on track to meet guidance for the full year “in the absence of any further significant deterioration in the macro environment”.
The company said that in Western European markets the acute spike in inflation in a stagnant wage growth environment has quickly resulted in absolute lower spending by consumers.
It also commented that during the period the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops had driven people out of their homeland and into the company’s core markets, but that any extra footfall caused by this had been “offset to some extent by the invasion exacerbating existing supply chain disruption and inflationary headwinds.”
Trevor Masters, CEO of Pepco Group, said that his business had emerged “a stronger, more resilient operator from this unprecedented recent period”.
