CVS Group reported £712.8 million in revenue for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, a 5.9% increase from £673.2 million a year earlier. The London-listed pet-care operator said like-for-like sales grew 2.1% overall, up from 0.2% in FY2025, though growth decelerated from an estimated 2.7% in the first half as adverse weather dampened customer visits.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 5.1% to £141.5 million, while adjusted operating cash conversion slipped to 70.6% from 76.9%. Adjusted earnings per share climbed 6.9% to 85.6 pence, up from 80.1 pence. The company returned £31.7 million to shareholders through buybacks and flagged it could return up to £38 million in the coming fiscal year.
CVS shares fell 5.67% to 1,228.14p on the day. The decline followed the release of the company’s annual results slide deck and came despite the firm characterising performance as strong.
Richard Fairman, chief executive, described the results as “solid results with improved LFLs, resilient earnings growth and continued M&A progress.” He also announced his intention to step down from the role.
The veterinary-practices division generated £648.2 million in revenue, up 5.2%, with adjusted EBITDA of £138.7 million. Like-for-like growth in that segment was 1.0%. The laboratory unit saw revenue rise 11.5% to £35 million and adjusted EBITDA climb 25.6% to £11.3 million. Online retail revenue grew 11.1% to £51 million, contributing £1.4 million in adjusted EBITDA.
The Healthy Pet Club subscription base contracted to 508,000 members from 519,000 a year earlier, though it still produced £95.5 million in revenue. More than 150,000 appointments were booked digitally, with 15% falling outside traditional opening hours.
Free cash flow came in at £69.2 million, down £3.0 million from the prior year. Capital expenditure totalled £36.4 million, up £3.2 million, and the company said it planned annual outlays of up to £30 million going forward. Acquisition spending reached £45.4 million, including £43.3 million spent on six Australian purchases covering 14 sites, and a £15 million initial consideration for a UK practice. Planned annual M&A investment is around £50 million.
The Competition and Markets Authority-related costs totalled £12.8 million during the period. Net bank borrowings stood at £199.6 million with a leverage ratio of 1.63 times adjusted EBITDA, below the company’s 2.0x guardrail. Borrowing capacity has been extended to May 2030 under a £350 million facility.
Group ROCE declined 1.2 percentage points to 16.1%. CVS holds roughly 9% market share in a £6.7 billion UK market that is approximately 60% consolidated, and between 1% and 2% of a £3.3 billion Australian market where only 15–20% is corporate-controlled.
On 11 analyst estimates, FY2027 consensus adjusted EBITDA ranges from £149 million to £151.7 million, averaging £150.4 million. Adjusted EPS is forecast at an average of 94.9 pence, ranging from 89.3p to 99.6p.
