(Bloomberg) -- Pets at Home Group Plc shares rose as much as 18 percent after first-quarter results showed the retailer made the most of the U.K. heatwave.
Sales were boosted by products designed to prevent pets from overheating such as water bottles, a dog-sized paddling pool, cooling ice vests and chew toys that can be put in the freezer. That, plus brisk growth at its veterinarian unit, helped fuel first-quarter sales growth of 8 percent.
Liberum analysts upgraded the stock to hold from sell, and the shares had their biggest gain since the company's 2014 initial public offering.
“I am really pleased with our start to the year, particularly as trading across both retail and the vet business has been consistently strong,” Chief Executive Officer Peter Pritchard said in a statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Howcroft in London at ehowcroft@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Contiliano at tcontiliano@bloomberg.net, Thomas Mulier, John Lauerman
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