B&M has said it has made a strong start to the new financial year with group revenue increasing by 27.7% to £1.15 billion in its first quarter. In the three months to 27 June, B&M UK revenue rose by 33.7% to £987.8 million as like-for-like sales climbed by 26.9%.
B&M said its like-for-like customer count gradually recovered in the period following a decline at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown. At the end of the quarter, B&M had 656 stores trading under the B&M fascia compared to 632 at the same time last year, although it held back from opening any new stores in the period due to the impact of Covid-19.
B&M said its Heron Foods business is continuing to trade well following a good performance in the prior year.
B&M chief executive, Simon Arora said: “The group has made a strong start to the financial year, with a particularly strong performance in our UK businesses, and progress now resumed in France after an 8 week closure period.
“However, as outlined at our preliminary results for the last financial year announced on 11 June 2020, there are a great deal of uncertainties ahead. The safety of our colleagues and customers remains our priority whilst we work hard to continue to meet our customers’ needs in these difficult times.”
