B&M Preliminary Results Reveal 'Exceptional Year'

B&M European Value Retail S.A. ("the Group"), the UK's leading variety goods value retailer, today announces its Preliminary Results for the 52 weeks to 27 March 2021 ("FY21"). 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Group revenues increased by 25.9% to £4,801.4m (FY20: £3,813.4m), 25.7% on a constant currency basis¹

• B&M UK fascia² revenue up 29.9%, including like-for-like³ ("LFL") revenue growth of 23.8% within which H1 was 23.0% and H2 was 24.5%

• Group adjusted EBITDA⁴ (pre-IFRS16) increased by 83.0% to £626.4m (FY20: £342.3m) with an exceptional adjusted EBITDA⁴ margin of 13.0% (FY20: 9.0%) driven by higher sales densities, an elevated gross margin due to lack of markdown activity and operating leverage in the core B&M UK business

• Group statutory profit before tax, stated post-IFRS16, increased 108.5% to £525.4m (FY20: £252.0m) with statutory diluted earnings per share 42.7p (FY20: 19.5p⁶)

• 43 gross new B&M UK store openings, weighted towards H2 following initial delays caused by Covid-19 at the start of FY21, offset by 18 closures

• Babou delivered an adjusted EBITDA⁴ of £11.1m (FY20: £(3.0)m), despite the disruption caused by 10 weeks of lockdown restrictions.  FY21 ended with a total French estate of 104 stores, of which 73 now trade as "B&M"

• Cash generated from operations of £944.0m (FY20: £539.5m), reflecting EBITDA growth and tight working capital discipline

• Year-end net debt⁵  of £519.8m, with net debt⁵ to adjusted EBITDA⁴ leverage ratio (pre-IFRS16) of 0.8x (FY20: 1.0x), comfortably within our stated leverage ceiling of 2.25x

• Rewarded colleagues and invested in the communities we serve through the payment of colleague recognition bonuses in relation to Covid-19 and the creation of over 7,200 new UK jobs

• Recommended final dividend⁷ increased by 140.7% to 13.0p per share (FY20: 5.4p), bringing the full year ordinary dividend to 17.3p per share (FY20: 8.1p), at the top end of our ordinary dividend pay-out policy.  This is in addition to £450m of special dividends⁷ paid in FY21 

Simon Arora, Chief Executive, said,

"The last year has been an exceptional one.  Our results reflect the speed at which we responded to the challenges presented by Covid-19, and the strength of our execution.  The core B&M UK business, as an essential retailer, traded throughout the year and welcomed a number of new shoppers, with colleagues working tirelessly to maintain on-shelf availability and provide a safe shopping environment.  We also made strong progress in France, despite many stores being closed for up to ten weeks throughout the year.  I express my sincere thanks to colleagues across the Group for all of their efforts and determination. 

"Looking ahead, there are many uncertainties as society slowly emerges from lockdown and trading patterns are likely to be unpredictable for much of the year.  Within our UK business, we will be up against the strong comparatives from last year but we remain confident that the B&M customer proposition, with its modern network of predominantly Out of Town stores and value-led variety offer, will prove highly relevant to the needs of shoppers.  As such, we are well positioned to support the communities in which we trade, retain the loyalty of new customers, and to continue our store roll-out strategy." 

Financial Results 

Gilles Petit has confirmed that he will not be seeking re-election to the Board on 29 July 2021, as he intends to focus on roles supporting start-up businesses in the future. He will therefore be retiring as a Non-Executive Director of the Company on that date. The Board wishes him well for the future and thanks him for his service to the Board as a Non-Executive Director over the past two years.   

Source : B&M European Value Retail SA

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