Card Factory was valued at £766m when it floated on the London Stock Exchange last May and now that value has increased by nearly £400m, worth almost £1.16bn.
The greeting card specialist saw revenue increase by 7.5% in its first quarter, driven by like-for-like sales growth, new store roll out and further growth in its complementary online division.
Card Factory‘s has continued its store opening programme, which saw 19 new stores opened in Q1, across a wide range of demographics locations. Total estate is now at 783 stores and the Wakefield based retailer remains on track to delivering approximately 50 new stores in the current financial year.
Card Factory‘s principal online business Getting Personal continues to perform well, building on a strong performance over the last two financial years
Last month, Card Factory‘s transactional website was relaunched under a new, more accessible, web domain. The new website utilises the in-house, responsive technology platform and is a significant enhancement to its predecessor, a “white label” site provided by a third party. Following an appropriate trial period, the UK retailer will explore “various options” to grow the online channel‘s revenues from its current very small base.
Richard Hayes, Card Factory‘s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Following on from our record performance last year, we have had a positive start to our new financial year, with consistently strong revenue growth and cash generation and I remain confident that the Group will achieve the Board’s expectations for the full financial year. Our value retail proposition, built on our long-established vertically integrated model, remains highly differentiated, extremely difficult to replicate and, importantly, very attractive to the customer.”
He added: “We are also pleased to have further developed our online proposition through the launch of a new Card Factory website, which we are sure will be well received by our customers who will benefit from its enhanced functionality and access to a greater product range.”
