Card Factory has lowered its profit forecast as it highlighted weak consumer confidence and soft high street footfall.
The cards specialist said it expected to deliver pre-tax profit between £55m and £60m in its annual results, assuming that current trading trends persisted over the remaining seven weeks of its financial year.
The brand previously forecast roughly £70m profit for the period.
Card Factory said: “Over recent months, the pressures facing the UK consumer have been well publicised. It is an inescapable fact that these pressures have impacted consumer confidence and shopping behaviour, contributing to soft high street footfall.
“Those conditions have persisted as we moved into our most important trading period, leading to a UK store sales performance which is lower than our previous expectations.”
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The company said progress on its long-term strategy had continued over the period, including the execution of its “simplify and scale” productivity and efficiency programme, as it continued to offset “ongoing high inflation impacting UK retail businesses”.
It also noted that the performance of its other businesses, including those in the Republic of Ireland and North America, remained in line with expectations, while the integration of Funky Pigeon “remains on track”.
Card Factory said: “The board remains confident in the group’s long-term strategy.
“The share buyback programme will continue and the board anticipates declaring a progressive full-year dividend, in line with its capital allocation policy.”
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