Card Factory’s full-year profits dropped after it experienced weaker high street footfall and cautious consumer spending hit trading during the key Christmas period, despite growth in sales and continued store expansion.

The greetings cards and celebrations retailer said revenue rose 7.4% to £582.7 million in the year to 31 January 2026, helped by new store openings and contributions from acquisitions, including online personalised cards and gift platform Funky Pigeon.

However, adjusted pre-tax profit fell 15.2% to £56 million, while reported pre-tax profit dropped 31.5% to £43.9m, as the group cited softer customer demand in the second half and inflationary pressures.

Chief executive Darcy Willson-Rymer said the group had faced a “challenging consumer backdrop” during the year, with weaker high street footfall particularly affecting its peak festive trading season.

He said: “Despite a challenging consumer backdrop in FY26, we continued to execute our strategy to transform Card Factory into a global celebrations group, underpinned by targeted investment and disciplined cost management.”

Like-for-like store sales were broadly flat across the year at -0.2%, with higher basket values offset by fewer transactions as shoppers made fewer trips and spent more carefully.

The retailer said it opened 27 net new stores during the year, taking its estate across the UK and Ireland to 1,117 sites.

Card Factory also highlighted progress in digital after acquiring Funky Pigeon in August 2025, saying the deal had strengthened its online position and would help future growth. The acquisition contributed £13.5m in sales during the year.

Despite the profit decline, the company said free cash flow rose 41.2% to £40.7m, allowing it to increase its total dividend to 5.0p per share and announce plans for a £15m share buyback programme.

Looking ahead, Card Factory said trading in the first three months of FY27 had been in line with the same period last year, excluding the benefit of Funky Pigeon.

The business warned ongoing geopolitical instability and conflict in the Middle East could affect freight, fuel and input costs, but said it expected full-year adjusted profits to be in line with market expectations.

Willson-Rymer added: “By remaining focused on developing our strong value and quality offer, we will continue to help our customers celebrate life’s moments.”

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