Halfords suffers profit fall after weak cycling sales
Car parts and cycle retailer Halfords has reported a fall in first half pre-tax profit after disappointing cycling sales.
In the six months 2 October pre-tax profit after non-recurring items fell to £46.4 million from £49.6 million in the same period in the previous year.
Total group revenue rose to £533.5 million from £524.1 million while like-for-like revenue edged up 1.7%.
Halfords chief executive Jill McDonald said: “The cycling performance in the second quarter was disappointing and, given the seasonal mix towards cycling during the summer, this contributed to the decline in group profitability for the period.”
The company has also announced that it is embarking on a new strategy called Moving up a Gear which will succeed its Getting into Gear turnaround plan.
McDonald added: ”Under the new strategy we will continue to invest to move from fixing the basics to enabling sustainable growth. There are a number of significant opportunities for further improvement, which include the leveraging of customer data and analytics, relentless innovation, a better shopping experience, enhanced customer service and services, and a fulfilment infrastructure for modern times. We look forward with confidence to growing Halfords over the long term.”
