B&M to pay £250m to shareholders

B&M has announced that its board will pay out a total of £250m to shareholders after declaring a special dividend of 25.0p per share. 

It comes as the group welcomed a “strong” performance against pre-pandemic levels in its FY22 interim results on 11 November, with an ongoing evaluation of its leverage and cash position.

Following the evaluation, the board determined to return surplus cash to shareholders, and the special dividend will now be paid on 14 January 2022.

Last month, B&M revealed group revenues increased by 1.2% to £2.26bn – and were up 26.8% on a two-year basis – during the 26-week period ending 30 September 2021.

It said the performance came as gross margin in its UK business was “particularly strong”, driven by a change in the sales mix towards general merchandise and high sell-through across Spring/Summer seasonal ranges leading to limited markdown activity.

However, profit before tax decreased by 6.2% to £238m – down from £253.6m the previous year, whilst statutory profit before tax increased by 2.4% to £241.4m.

At the time, Simon Arora, chief executive, said: “The group has performed strongly throughout the first half of our financial year, with customers continuing to be drawn to our value for money offer. We have responded decisively to supply chain challenges by leveraging our strong supplier relationships and we have improved in-store execution.

“As a consequence, we are fully stocked heading into the Golden Quarter, with stores already showcasing our excellent Christmas ranges. To colleagues across the Group, I express my gratitude for their dedication, skill and commitment, which have made these results possible.”

He added: “Although the pathway to a ‘new normal’ remains uncertain and the industry faces a number of supply and inflationary pressures as we enter the second half of the financial year, we are very confident that the B&M Group is well positioned to navigate these and will continue to be successful both in the UK and in France.”