Halfords profits up 6.4% in first half
Cycle and car parts retailer Halfords has posted a 6.4% increase in its first-half profits after good weather over the summer helped to boost sales.
In the 26 weeks to end September, adjusted pre-tax profits rose to £44.6 million from £41.9 million in the same period in the previous year. While group like-for-like sales climbed by 6.2%, group revenues increased by 7.7% to £490.6 million.
Within Halfords’ retail business, sales for the half year rose by 7.9% to £424 million with like-for-like sales increasing by 7.7%. The growth was largely driven by higher bike sales with cycling like-for-like revenues rising by 14.2% in the period. The group said cycle sales had benefited from the better weather over the summer and from the strong British showing in major cycling events such as the Tour de France.
Sales of car maintenance products and services grew by 8.8% on a like-for-like basis, while cycle repair sales climbed 27.7%.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Total revenues were rose by 6.4% at the retailer’s Autocentres. However, sales at the division fell by 2.1% on a like-for-like basis as the retailer relied less on affiliate-driven tyre sales and saw a decline in daily rental car servicing as older cars were churned for newer models.
Halfords said its three-year transformation programme was “progressing well”. During the period, the retailer launched a new website, introduced a new recruitment process and staff training programme and completed several store refurbishments.
Commenting on the results Halfords chief executive Matt Davies said: “These are early days in our three-year transformation plan but it is encouraging to see the retail business deliver a strong first-half performance. In cycling we were helped by the better weather but made the most of it by ensuring we had the stock and compelling offers to meet demand.
“We have made a good start on many elements of our Getting Into Gear programme and now have a strong retail management team in place. The performance in Autocentres by contrast was impacted by both operational and market challenges, although we have a clear investment plan in place to grow the business over the medium term.”
