Shares of Liverpool-based B&M European Value Retail fell around 9% on Tuesday after it published a trading update for the first quarter of its current financial year (FY26), relating to the 13 week period from March 30, 2025, to June 28, 2025.

B&M shares are now down almost 50% for the past year to around £2.35, slashing its stock market value to about £2.4 billion.

B&M said its first quarter group revenues increased 4.4% to £1.405 billion, with growth from new space and a positive quarterly LFL performance in B&M UK and B&M France.

“FMCG LFL (fast-moving consumer goods like-for-like) for the quarter was negative; however performance in our Health & Beauty and Cleaning categories has been comparatively stronger in June following the improvements made in operational execution,” said B&M.

“Further work to strengthen our FMCG proposition continues.

“B&M UK General Merchandise sales values and units increased in Q1 on both a LFL and total basis; Garden, Toys and DIY categories performed well, despite deflation in average selling prices (ASP).

“In the quarter, ASP deflation has led to a lower trading gross margin year-on-year in some General Merchandise categories. However, from Q2 we will begin to annualise these ASP effects and new ranges being introduced have a higher bought-in trading gross margin …”

New B&M CEO Tjeerd Jegen said: “My early days spent listening to and learning from our passionate colleagues and customers have underlined for methe strength of our value-focused model, which is more crucial than ever in the current challenging economic climate.

“While B&M UK’s like-for-like sales are growing, I see a significant opportunity and requirement to sharpen our commercial and operational execution as we move towards and beyond the Golden Quarter.

“Looking ahead, my focus is on building on our strong foundations, leveraging our market position, and continuing to deliver exceptional value for our customers.”