Pets at home Share News (PETS)

(ShareCast News) - Specialist retailer of pet products and services Pets at Home Group announced a first quarter trading up for the 16 week period from 1 April to 21 July on Thursday, with group like-for-like revenue growth of 2.7%.The FTSE 250 firm said this was driven by advanced nutrition, omnichannel, vet and grooming services, alongside a return to positive sales growth in health and hygiene productsIts merchandise like-for-like revenue growth was 2.2%, and services like-for-like revenue growth hit 7.5%, making for total revenue growth of 8.9% to £244.2m.Merchandise revenues were up 4.9% to £210.5m, and services revenues up 43.4% to £33.7m, reflecting joint venture vet practice fee income up 22.5% to £12.4m and the contribution from newly acquired specialist referral centres.During the quarter, the company opened four Pets at Home stores, three Vets4Pets practices and six Groom Room salonsVIP club active members hit 3.5 million, an increase of around 200,000 since the year-end, with the card swipe rate at store tills hitting 65% of revenues, compared with 64% in the fourth quarter.The company launched a monthly subscription service for flea treatment products, and said its VIP app was now live, removing the need for customers to carry their VIP card."We are pleased with our positive start to the year, delivered through consistent performance in our core strengths of Advanced Nutrition, vet and grooming services, with a continued underpin from the growth in sales to our VIP members," said group chief executive officer Ian Kellett."Whilst the consumer outlook is uncertain, we remain confident in our long term strategy and are reassured by the historical resilience of the pet market in times of economic downturn."Our full year outlook remains in-line with market expectations," Kellett added.