Overview

• B&M now forecasts full-year underlying earnings of £510m–£560m and expects around £198m of underlying pre-tax profit for the half year, down about 28%.
• UK like-for-like sales declined 1.1% in the second quarter, though the company flagged a recent improvement and guided second-half growth between low single-digit negative and low single-digit positive.
• Chief executive Tjeerd Jegen set a 12–18 month plan focused on price cuts for key items, more flexible “managers specials,” range simplification, and better on-shelf availability.
• The retailer cited around £30m of extra wage costs in the first half and roughly £14m from new Extended Producer Responsibility packaging charges as key profit headwinds.
• During the period B&M opened 23 UK stores and closed 14, adding a net nine sites, and reported UK first-half revenue of £2.2bn, up 3.5%.