B&M, Liverpool retailer, joins the FTSE 100

Global index provider FTSE Russell has confirmed that Liverpool-based B&M European Value Retail will be joining the FTSE 100 Index as a result of the September 2020 quarterly review.

B&M is registered in Luxembourg but its shares trade in London, where its stock has risen 40% in the past 12 months to give the firm a current stock market value of around £4.7 billion.

In the rebalance, ITV will leave the FTSE 100 index and enter the FTSE 250 index. 

“The rules-driven, impartial quarterly reviews ensure the indexes continue to portray an accurate reflection of the market they represent and form an essential component to the management of the indexes,” said FTSE Russell.

On June 11, B&M published results for the 52 weeks to March 28, 2020, showing revenue rose 16.5% to £3.81 billion, profit before tax increased 3.2% to £252 million, and full year dividend rose 6.6% to 8.1p per share.

On July 28, B&M published a positive trading update for the year to date.

“On 1 July 2020, the group announced that it had made a strong start to the new financial year and, against a highly uncertain economic backdrop and continued impacts from Covid19, B&M was well placed to continue to grow profitably in the UK and continue to develop and prove the proposition in France,” said B&M in the July 28 update.

“The group’s current expectation for the six months to 26 September 2020 (H1 FY21) Adjusted EBITDA (on a pre-IFRS 16 basis) is that it is likely to be in the range of £250m to £270m. 

“The average analysts’ consensus forecast for H1 FY21 Adjusted EBITDA (on a pre-IFRS 16 basis) is £208.1m.

“There remains considerable uncertainty in relation to both the progression of Covid-19 and the economic outlook and it is therefore hard to predict trading levels for the second half of the year.”