Discounter Pepco in price pledge as first-half sales rise By Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – Pepco Group, owner of European discount retailer brands PEPCO, Poundland and Dealz, pledged to “protect prices” for cash-strapped shoppers, as it reported an increase of 17.5%in first-half revenue, driven by new store openings.

The group, which listed on the Warsaw stock market last May, said it would continue to drive its growth agenda while cutting the costs of doing business.

“This will enable us to offset the majority of our input inflation, allowing us to protect prices for our cost-conscious customers,” said interim chief executive Trevor Masters.

He cautioned that the market Pepco operates in is likely to stay volatile in the near term, because of inflationary pressures and the conflict in Ukraine, which borders three of the company’s largest operating territories.

Britain’s inflation hit a 30-year high of 7% in March, with households facing the biggest cost-of-living squeeze since records began in the 1950s.

In the 19-country Euro zone it surged to 7.5% in March, hitting another record, with months to go before it is set to peak.

Pepco said revenue totalled 2.37 billion euros ($2.57 billion) in the six months to March 31 as it opened 192 new stores, taking the total to 3,696 across 17 countries.

It said like-for-like sales growth was 5.3%, driven by growth of 12.1% in the second quarter.

Pepco, which does not trade online bar a small Poundland trial, forecast first-half core earnings (EBITDA) within a range of 342 million euros to 350 million euros.

“Within this range, the group remains on track to meet guidance for the full year in the absence of any further significant deterioration in the macro environment,” it said.

Masters succeeded Andy Bond, who stepped down for health reasons at the end of March.

($1=0.9223 euros)