Card Factory expects pre-tax profits to be at the top end of market expectations after a strong trading performance across stores and online in the lead up to Christmas.
Like-for-like store sales in November and December jumped 7.8%, driven by an increase in transactions and average basket value.
The card and gifts retailer said online sales were also “very encouraging” over the period, with double-digit like-for-like growth in November and December.
The Christmas boost has helped to push total sales for the 11 months to 31 December up 10.2% to £476.9m.
Store sales grew 8.2% on a like-for-like basis over the period, while online sales declined 12.8% partially offset by an improvement in the second half “reflecting the ongoing investment in online capability, platform performance and customer experience”.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
Card Factory said new partnerships with Matalan and its Middle East franchisee Liwa Trading Enterprises made “a positive contribution”.
It recently acquired South African cards retailer SA Greetings ”continues to perform in line with expectations”, contributing £9.1m in sales over the 11 months.
As a result, the business said its adjusted pre-tax profits would be at the top of market expectations of between £58.4m and £62m.
Chief executive Darcy Willson-Rymer said: “We are pleased to have delivered a strong performance over the Christmas period, further demonstrating the progress we are making on our strategic growth initiatives.
“Our value and quality proposition continues to resonate with customers at a time when value for money is as important as ever. Even during challenging times, consumers want to celebrate key life moments and this was reflected in the positive performance that we saw in the Christmas trading period and throughout the year to date.
“As we look ahead, we remain focused on delivering against our growth strategy by helping our customers to affordably celebrate all life’s moments.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
