Poundland’s revenue exceeded £1bn for the first time in the 12 months ending 29 March 2015.

The group’s sales increased by 11.8% to £1.1bn as it opened 60 new stores in the UK and Ireland, in line with its target.

It ended the year with 547 stores in the UK and has a “strong pipeline” of stores for the current financial year.

The Competition and Markets Authority last week announced it would refer Poundland’s intended acquisition of 99p Stores for an in-depth investigation.

Following an initial investigation, the CMA found that the transaction could result in the “substantial lessening of competition” in 80 local areas where the companies currently overlap – and in a further 12 areas where they will be competitors in the near future.

Poundland said it would continue to “carefully consider” the CMA’s decision and would make a further announcement in due course.

Commenting on its performance, Poundland’s chief executive Jim McCarthy said: “Poundland’s revenue for the 2015 financial year was over £1bn for the first time. Despite tough trading conditions, Poundland continues to perform well and we served an average of 5.3 million shoppers a week during the quarter.”