B&M lowers FY guidance amid accounting error as CFO resigns

B&M has reduced its profit guidance for the 2026 financial year after uncovering an accounting error related to freight costs, as it confirmed the planned departure of its chief financial officer Mike Schmidt. 

The value retailer said a review of its half-year consolidation process found around £7m of overseas freight costs that had not been correctly recognised in the cost of goods sold. 

This issue arose following an operating system update earlier in the year, though the company maintains that the problem has since been resolved. 

As a result, the retailer now expects adjusted EBITDA – excluding lease accounting under IFRS 16 – to be between £470m and £520m for the year to March 2026. This compares with a previous forecast range of £510m to £560m issued on 7 October.

For the first half of the year, B&M expects adjusted EBITDA of about £191m, down from earlier guidance of around £198m. The company reaffirmed its assumption that like-for-like sales growth in its UK business would remain between low-single-digit negative and low-single-digit positive levels in the second half.

Adjusted EBITDA for the group’s UK operations are also expected to stabilise at low double-digit levels over the medium term. The board has commissioned an independent third-party review into the freight cost issue.

In its latest update, B&M said that Schmidt had also informed the board of his decision to step down. A search for his successor is under way, and Schmidt will remain in post until a replacement is appointed to ensure an orderly handover. 

B&M said it will provide a further update alongside its interim results on 13 November.