Pet food specialist Pets at Home has reported a 50% lift in profits.

Specialist pet food retailer Pets at Home has shrugged off the economic slowdown, posting more than a 50% boost in profits for the financial year ending March 27 2008.

For the period, pre-tax profits were up 55.6% to £30.9 million whilst sales rose 15.7% to £354.7m. Like-for-like sales were up 8%.

The retailer, owned by private equity house Bridgepoint, made a raft of store openings throughout the year – adding 20 outlets to bring its total estate to 213 stores.

Pets at Home Chief Executive, Matthew Davies, told Crain’s Manchester Business: “In the 15 weeks since Christmas, we have continued to maintain our sales momentum and we remain confident about the year ahead.”

In light of the strong performance, the company has ruled out plans for a sale or flotation, citing the current economic environment which it believes would “inevitably undervalue what is a fantastic business.”

By Natasha Piscitelli