Easter and campers help Halfords sales improve
A late Easter and demand for camping equipment during recent warm weather has lifted sales at British car parts to bicycles retailer Halfords, helping it meet full-year profit forecasts.
Halfords, which runs 466 shops and 242 car servicing Autocentres, said sales at shops open at least a year rose 0.8 per cent in the nine weeks to June 3, improving on a 6.8 per cent decline in the fourth quarter of its last financial year.
The timing of Easter added around 1.5 per cent to underlying sales over the latest trading period, it said.
Like-for-like sales in Autocentres were up 1.2 per cent, following a fourth-quarter fall of 1.4 per cent.
“We expect the consumer environment to remain challenging, but we have demonstrated that our business can make good progress in these conditions,” Halfords said.
Profit before tax and one off items climbed 7.2 per cent to £125.6m for the year ended April 1, in line with guidance the company gave two months ago.
The dividend was lifted ten per cent to 22p per share.
Halfords shares have lagged the UK general retail index by 12 per cent this year. They closed at 397.8p yesterday, valuing the business at about £832m.