Halfords has reported like-for-like sales are up 2.2% in its second quarter and said it is confident it will deliver further profit growth in the second quarter.
For the second quarter and first half-year ending October 2, Halfords said the group has successfully expanded and enhanced its ranges in markets such as camping and that has benefitted from the increase in holidays in the UK.
In the second quarter, group sales increased by 3.8%. Year-on-year sales growth for the first half was 3.4%, 1.7% on a like-for-like basis. Adjusting for the impact of Easter, sales growth was 2.8%, equating to a like-for-like sales increase of 1.1%.
The retailer said car maintenance continues to trade strongly. In car enhancement, it said while revenues from satellite navigation devices continues to decline, the profit impact is largely mitigated through its focus on increasing sales of higher margin ancillary products.
Chief executive David Wild said: “We are pleased with our performance in the first half of the year. We have further increased share in our strong markets, managed margins tightly and controlled costs effectively whilst making selective investments to support future growth. Our service initiatives, particularly fitting, and halfords.com are performing ahead of expectations and well above last year.”
He said while the retailer remains cautious about the macro-economic environment in the balance of the year, “we have a solid foundation from which we are very well positioned to deliver further profit growth in the second half and sustainable increases in earnings over the longer-term.”
The retailer said it is confident that the group will deliver half-year pre-tax profit in the range of £59m-£61m.
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