Shares of the company were 8% down in early trade on the bleak outlook.

"COVID-19 continues to create a number of material uncertainties around the near-term trading environment, from a potential escalation of current restrictions on a national level, to reversion to a tiered system of localised restrictions," Chief Executive Officer Peter Pritchard said.

Underlying pre-tax profit fell 5.1% to 39.6 million pounds ($52.80 million) for the 28 weeks ended Oct. 8 as virus-related curbs on grooming services hit margins.

Revenue, however, grew to 574.4 million pounds from 546.3 million pounds a year earlier.

With pet adoptions surging during the pandemic, Pets at Home has seen strong demand for its accessories and veterinary services, recording double-digit growth in same-store sales during the last eight weeks of its second quarter.

"Pet ownership, a proxy for longer-term market growth, is increasing, and the lockdown has, if anything, accentuated our emotional bond with pets, as they play a more significant role in our daily lives," the company said.

Pets at Home, which operates 451 retail stores, said it expects full-year underlying pre-tax profit to be in line with the prior year.

(Reporting by Jasmine I S in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)