Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “Just as a dog gets excited at the prospect of ‘walkies’, the tail is finally wagging on Pets at Home’s shares.
“On the face of it, a 0.7 per cent decline in third quarter like-for-like sales is hardly cause for celebration.
“The market likes the result because trading hasn’t dramatically worsened.
“Expectations for Pets at Home have been rock-bottom since a series of profit warnings over the past year.
“The company has been left behind after failing to fight off competition, and it’s now in turnaround mode.
“Pets at Home appears to be steadying the ship, and that’s fantastic news for investors.
“It’s a good starting point for the incoming new leadership team in the spring.
“The last thing a new CEO and CFO want to do is spend their first few months wading through a mess.
“If the business has stabilised, they can have a clearer focus on how to resume growth.”
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