(Sharecast News) – Card Factory shares slumped on Tuesday as the retailer posted a jump in half-year revenues and profits but warned of a “challenging” economic backdrop in the run-up to Christmas.
In the six months to 31 July, group revenue rose 11.5% on the same period a year earlier to £220.8m. This reflected continued good momentum across the business, particularly in the core stores segment, the company said.
Meanwhile, pre-tax profit rose by 72.7% to £24.7m, and adjusted pre-tax profit was up 104.6% to £22.1m.
Cardfactory like-for-like sales grew 10% during the half, while store revenue was up 10.5% on an LFL basis.
As expected, online LFL sales were down 13.1%. The retailer said this reflected the investment phase of this channel and the continued rebalancing of retail sales between online and in store across the sector.
Chief executive Darcy Willson-Rymer said: “Our value and quality proposition and the strength of our store estate resonates with customers and positions us well to navigate the challenging economic backdrop in the run up to the Christmas trading season.
“Continued leveraging of the insights gathered from our investment in customer data is enabling us to evolve and optimise our store formats and ranges across cards, gifts and celebration essentials, all underpinned by our discipline in maintaining a resilient financial position.”
At 0915 BST, the shares were down 5.3% at 105.28p.
