By Greg Wright

Published 31st May 2023, 09:42 BST

The business said that it had registered revenue of nearly £5bn in the 12 months to the end of March, a rise of 6.6 per cent compared to the year before.

But its profit dropped by 17 per cent to £436m as shopping habits returned to more normalised levels after the pandemic, the business said on Wednesday.

The financial year that just passed will be the one to measure future success against, B&M said. It is the new “underlying revenue and profit base level from which we can grow”, it told shareholders, as it left the pandemic effects behind.

Retailer B&M has said that it expects earnings to grow in the current financial year, sending its shares soaring on Wednesday morning.

And trading since the end of March has indicated that this growth is likely to be visible during the current financial year. Like-for-like sales were up 8.3 per cent in the first nine weeks of the year.

Retailer B&M sees higher earnings in 2024 as it gives up pandemic gains