Profit Slide, Turnaround Ahead
B&M Reports Significant Profit Decline While Turnaround Plan Shows Early Progress
B&M European Value Retail reported a sharp profit decline in the 52 weeks to late March 2026, citing a challenging market and execution issues, with pre-tax profit falling to about £227m and adjusted pre-tax profit down to around £284m. Revenue edged up to roughly £5.7–£5.8bn, but B&M UK’s like-for-like sales were broadly flat around -0.1%, even as France delivered stronger performance (including double-digit growth). The retailer said its Back to B&M Basics turnaround plan, launched in October, is starting to show progress through sharper pricing, improved stock availability, revamped promotions, cleared discontinued lines, and moves to reduce SKU counts. Cash generation remained strong, enabling a reduction in net debt to about £656m and bringing leverage back within the company’s target range. Looking ahead, B&M characterized the next year as one of investment—balancing new store openings with store-format innovation and cost mitigation, including offsetting rising energy costs. The company also noted a redomicile to Jersey as part of its ongoing corporate changes.
Key Points
The profit slide included a larger impairment hit: B&M recorded an impairment charge of £36m versus £3m in FY25, contributing to statutory profit before tax falling to £227m.
B&M’s underlying earnings momentum deteriorated further, with adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) dropping from £620m to £459m (a separate measure from profit before tax).
Despite flat UK like-for-like performance overall, the turnaround showed early signs late in the year: Q4 like-for-like sales rose to 0.1% after a steeper decline in Q3.
B&M continued growing its store footprint during the year, opening 64 new stores, including 33 net new openings.
Even with profits down, B&M proposed a final dividend of 6.1p per share—taking the total ordinary dividend to 9.6p versus 15p the prior year.
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