In major news on UK stocks, B&M European Value Retail SA (GB:BME) tumbled after the company’s preliminary results for FY24 did not provide any guidance for Fiscal 2025. Nonetheless, for the full year, the company’s profits soared by 14.1% year-over-year to £498 million. Following the release of the results, BME stock fell by nearly 7% as of writing.
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B&M is a discount retail chain that offers top-selling grocery and general merchandise products at budget-friendly prices. The company caters to over 3 million customers per week.
B&M Achieves Profitable Growth in FY24
B&M’s total revenue increased by 10.1% year-over-year to £5.5 billion, mainly driven by 78 new stores opened during the period. Moving forward, in FY25, the company is targeting opening 45 new stores in the UK. In the longer term, B&M aims to open 1,200 B&M stores across the UK, up from its current total of 741, highlighting a clear path for its top-line growth.
Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) grew by 9.7% to £629 million, aligning with its guidance.
Analysts’ Comments
Analysts expressed dissatisfaction with B&M’s results, noting the absence of a clear update on current trading and guidance for Fiscal 2025.
Jefferies analyst Andrew Wade commented that consensus seems to have already anticipated a weak Q1 performance for B&M.
Similarly, analyst Clive Black from Shore Capital said that the results were confusing and did not answer investors’ concerns. Black also added that the results focused on volume-led growth and comfortably missed information on like-for-like volume data.
Are B&M Shares a Good Buy?
According to TipRanks, BME stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on six recommendations. This includes four Buys, one Hold, and one Sell rating. The B&M share price target of 623.33p is 22% higher than the current trading level.
