Vet and pet store group Greencross wants to more than double its share of the country's fast-growing, $9 billion pet  care sector as Australians continue to "humanise" their animal companions. 
Greencross currently has about 8 per cent of the sector, but wants to grow that to 20 per cent. It expects the industry to grow by about 4 per cent a year. 
The company owns more than 115 veterinary clinics and 175 retail stores through its brands Petbarn, City Farmers, Animates and Greencross Vets.
It also owns Pets Eternal, a funeral service offering cremations, memorial services, burials and grief support, rounding out its services for all aspects of a pet's life cycle.
Chief executive Jeffrey David said he thinks pet owners will continue to spend more on high-quality food, seek out the highest level of medical care and splash cash on grooming, dog sitting and walking and obedience training.
"The humanisation of pets is bringing animals from the back yard into the house, and as those animals come into the house people are being more mindful of the health and wellbeing of that pet, that valued family member," he said.
"They're thinking about its breath, they're thing about its coat and its skin and making sure it's healthy.
"People therefore are buying products that will support them in taking care of the pet in a way that suits them having it inside the house."
Mr David said one result of people spending more on better food and health care for their pets was  the pet living longer, creating more business for Greencross.
"It's a beautiful thing," he said.
Greencross hopes to grow its market share from 8 per cent to 20 per cent, and Mr David said  having both retail and veterinary care was already driving that, with the combined amount customers spent with Greencross across different services becoming  greater than they would have spent otherwise.
"We are able to gain 'trusted advisor' status with our customers... and if we're  able to get someone to engage with us in a retail store, a vet clinic and a grooming saloon, we can take a $275 annual retail spend with us and turn that into $1400," Mr David said.
"Eighty per cent of our sales occur on one of our Friends for Life cards (Greencross' loyalty scheme)."
On Tuesday Greencross announced it had returned to profit in the year to   June 30, with after tax earnings of $19.1 million on revenue of $644.5 million.
This compares with a loss of $127.8 million in  2014, due to a one-off impairment charge of $130 million, stemming from its 2013 merger with Mammoth Pet. 
"It makes our step-up look huge but we're trying to say, "look we can't claim a $150 million improvement in profit but what we can show you is underlying results", chief financial officer Martin Nicholas said.
"I don't call it a turnaround, I call it a great year of results."
The company will pay a dividend of 9&cent; per share on   September 18.