Poundland profits rocket as like-for-likes slow

Single price point retailer Poundland operating profit rocketed 81.5% to of £21.5m in the year to March 28.

EBITDA soared 50% to £30.1m, while turnover grew 28.7% to £509.8m.

Like-for-like growth slowed to 0.7% however, down from 2.1% the previous year.

The 293-store retailer, which was bought by Warburg Pincus for around £200m in May, opened 56 stores in the period, and plans another 50 stores in the current year.

Poundland chief Executive Jim McCarthy said: “Our latest results show that consumers from all income brackets are savvy enough to shop with us to save money from their shopping budget.

“We have added more branded products to our ranges and with these Poundland now offers over 1000 top brands to compliment the overall range of 3000 products, to give consumers an even greater incentive to shop with us.

“With the economic uncertainty continuing, we are seeing many more first time shoppers joining our existing loyal customer base and with this trend set to continue, I remain confident of our prospects for the current financial year.”

Source : Nicola Harrison - Retailweek