CVS Group plc (CVSGF) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Prepared Remarks Transcript

CVS Group plc ( CVSGF ) Q4 2026 Earnings Call September 24, 2026 2:00 AM EDT Company Participants Richard William Fairman - CEO & Director Robin Alfonso - CFO & Director Paul Higgs - Chief Veterinary Officer & Director Presentation Richard William Fairman CEO & Director Welcome to this presentation of CVS Group's full year results for the year ended 30th of June 2026. I'm Richard Fairman, CEO, and you will also be hearing from Robin Alfonso, our CFO; and Paul Higgs, our Chief Veterinary Officer. The results we have announced today demonstrate another year of growth and strategic progress. While U.K. companion animal footfall remains softer than we would like during parts of the year, we have a number of initiatives underway to support volume growth and client engagement across all 3 divisions. We continue to invest in technology, facilities and clinical equipment to support organic growth, although as outlined in our July investor presentation, we expect our capital investment going forward to be lower than in recent years. We successfully refinanced our bank facilities in May, extending them through to 30th of May 2030 on improved terms, and we have a 1-year extension at our discretion. We will continue to focus on capital allocation and look to deploy capital to drive the highest returns. What is considered the most optimum use of capital is clearly linked to our prevailing share price. With refinancing in place and our continued subdued share price, we announced a GBP 50 million share buyback in May, which we expect to conclude in the next couple of months. This is following a GBP 20 million share buyback in support of our step-up to the main market, which completed in January. After 5 years of CMA activity in the sector across their initial mergers and subsequent markets work, it is