Pepco Group H1 Underlying EBITDA Down At EUR 460 Mln
Reuters
05-22
May 22 (Reuters) - Pepco Group NV :: *H1 GROUP REVENUE OF €3,338M GREW +4.3% Y-O-Y *PEPCO BRAND EXPECTS TO DELIVER FY25 REVENUE AND EBITDA GROWTH IN LINE WITH GUIDANCE OF HIGH SINGLE-DIGIT GROWTH *H1 UNDERLYING EBITDA OF €460M DOWN 5.5% Y-O-Y, WITH STRONG PEPCO EBITDA GROWTH OFFSET BY A MATERIAL DECLINE IN POUNDLAND EBITDA *POUNDLAND FY OUTLOOK WEAKER THAN EXPECTED *GROUP OPENED 101 NET NEW STORES DURING THE PERIOD LEADING TO A TOTAL OF 5,049 STORES IN OPERATION *BOARD CONTINUES TO ACTIVELY EXPLORE SEPARATION OPTIONS FOR POUNDLAND BUSINESS WITH AN EXIT EXPECTED BY END OF FY25 *PEPCO AND DEALZ POSITIVE TRADING MOMENTUM HAS CONTINUED INTO Q3 TO DATE, WITH LFL REVENUE AHEAD OF THE 3.6% LFL RATE ACHIEVED IN Q2 FY25 *POUNDLAND NOW EXPECTS TO DELIVER UNDERLYING FY25 EBITDA OF AROUND €0M TO €20 MILLION, COMPARED TO PREVIOUS GUIDANCE OF €50M TO €70M *IN TERMS OF STORE NUMBERS IN FY25, WE ARE NOW TARGETING TO OPEN ABOUT 250 NET NEW STORES ACROSS GROUP *GROSS MARGIN IMPROVED 30 BASIS POINTS (“BPS”) TO 43.3% FOR H1, DRIVEN BY PEPCO (+180 BPS Y-O-Y) *NEW STORES PRINCIPALLY FOCUSED ON PEPCO BRAND AND PRIMARILY IN CEE REGION *PEPCO IS MAINTAINING GOOD UNDERLYING PROGRESS IN TRADING AS WE ENTER SECOND HALF OF FY25