Halfords has lowered its annual profit forecast to the lower end of previous expectations as it warned of a softening in discretionary big ticket products, despite posting strong sales and profits.
The retailer said that categories such as cycling, were “challenging and below expectations” due to the tough consumer environment.
In the half to 29 September, the motoring and cyclist specialist saw revenue growth of 13.9% to £873.5m with like-for-like sales growth of 8.3% achieved despite a “challenging macro environment”.
Sales across its retail and autocentres increased 3.2% and 33.9% respectively, while underlying profit before tax rose 15.8% to £21.3m compared to the same period last year.
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However, due to the softening of demand in big ticket, the business now expects underlying pre-tax profit for the year to fall within the range of £48m to £53m, rather than the £48m to £58m forecast earlier this year.
Chief executive Graham Stapleton said: “Despite the challenging and volatile trading environment and slower than expected recovery in some of our markets, we have made a good start to the year, with substantial sales and profit growth, and increased market share across the business.
“At the same time, we supported our customers through the ongoing cost-of-living crisis by delivering great value – when they need it most.”
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