Card Factory profits plunged in its half year results, despite an uplift in sales.
The card retailer, which is currently pushing ahead with its store revamp programme, saw pre-tax profit slump 43% to £14m for the six months ended 31 July.
Card Factory insisted this reflected “substantial increases in National Living Wage” as well as “freight inflation and phasing of strategic investments”.
Sales were up almost 6% to £234m for the period, which it said showed positive momentum in its growth strategy.
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Online sales rose almost 9% while gifts and celebration essentials were up 6% as it continued to expand and introduce new gifting categories.
Looking ahead, the greetings card giant’s full-year expectations remain unchanged due to the “strong topline performance” in its first half combined with its “robust actions to mitigate inflationary pressures”.
Card Factory CEO Darcy Willson-Rymer said: “During the period, we continued to see strong performance across our growing store estate, with gifts and celebration essentials now a core driver of revenue growth, building on our strength in greetings cards.
“Together with the exciting partnership initiatives we are announcing today, we are helping more customers in more places celebrate life’s moments.”
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