Musti’s operating profit is down

Musti Group’s financial year was changed to the calendar year during the period. The financial year therefore covers 15 months. Prior to the change, the financial year ran from 1 October to 30 September. In the 2023 financial year, the Musti Group generated 425.7 mio euros. The significant increase in sales in 2024 can be explained by the 15-month financial period, which makes a comparison with 2023 difficult. Another reason for the sales growth in 2024: In November 2024, Musti Group acquired the Estonian Pet City and Pet City Clinic, expanding its operations into the Baltic countries: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Pet City has 46 stores, 16 veterinary clinics and an extensive online shop in the Baltic region. This development marks the start of a new strategic phase of international and sustainable growth, according to Musti, following a change in ownership of the Musti Group. Flybird Holding, an investor consortium between the Portuguese Sonae Group and Musti executives, has acquired a majority stake in the Musti Group in a transaction completed in the first quarter of 2024.

In terms of like-for-like sales growth, there was only a meagre increase of 1.1 per cent in 2024, compared to 9.5 per cent in the previous financial year. The share of online sales was 24.3 per cent in 2024, an increase of 1.3 per cent compared to 2023. At the end of 2024, the Musti Group had 2 178 employees, almost 1.9 mio customers, 415 directed operated stores and four franchise stores. Musti operates the largest number of stores, namely 137, in its home market of Finland, followed by Sweden (133), Norway (83) and the Baltic States (62).

Store sales was 413.2 mio euros in 2024 (322.3 mio: financial year 2023). Musti added a net of 81 directly operated stores to its network during the financial year, of which 62 were acquired through the Pet City acquisition. Like-for-like store sales growth was -1.6 per cent (6.7 per cent in 2023). Online sales were 136.4 mio euros (97.8 mio euros: 2023). Like-for-like online sales growth was 10.1 per cent (19.0 per cent: 2023). Online sales accounted for 24.3 per cent (23.0 per cent: 2023) of total net sales. The total number of customers increased by 3.3 per cent to 1 866 thousand (1 806 thousand: 2023). The rolling 12-month average spend per loyal customer was 209.1 euros, up from 206.4 euros in 2023.

In the company’s financial report, CEO David Rönnberg said he was pleased with the annual results: “2024 was another transformative year for Musti in a challenging trading environment. We gained market share and increased the number of pet parents we serve in our historic markets and extended our reach into the Baltic States, increasing our growth opportunities for 2025 and beyond.” However, the Musti boss is disappointed with the decline in operating profit from 37.8 mio euros in 2023 to 16.2 mio euros. The gross margin was also declining. From 45.1 per cent in fiscal 2023, it fell to 44.1 per cent in 2024.