Card Factory has issued a trading update, revising its profit guidance as low footfall continues.
The specialist retailer of cards and gifts said in a statement on the London Stock Exchange that it is an “inescapable fact” that pressures facing the UK consumer have impacted confidence, shopping behaviour, and high street footfall.
It continued: “Those conditions have persisted as we moved into our most important trading period, leading to a UK store sales performance which is lower than our previous expectations.”
The retailer added that assuming current trading trends continue in the next seven weeks of the financial year, it now expects adjusted profit before tax to be in the region of £55m and £60m.
Progress on its long-term strategy has continued. Card Factory said it has executed its “simplify and scale” programme, performance of businesses in Ireland and North America are in line with expectations and the integration of Funky Pigeon is on track.
It acquired Funky Pigeon from WHSmith in the summer, with the aim of the new purchase being to accelerate its existing digital strategy and provide a platform for online growth.
Its previous results posted for the six months to July 31 showed a 46.7% drop in profit before tax to £7.5m, but revenues did grow 5.9% to £247.6m.
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