Card Factory shares surged on Tuesday after the greeting card and gift retailer said full-year EBITDA was set to be ahead of market expectations as trading in the second half to date has been stronger than anticipated.
In a brief statement, the company said it now expects FY23 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be £96m, ahead of consensus expectations of £88.8m. This EBITDA would approximate to pre-tax profit of £37.5m.
Card Factory attributed its solid performance mainly to its stores, which have seen year-to-date like-for-like sales up 6.2% compared to the previous year – excluding periods of store closure the year earlier. Both the online business and commercial partnerships are performing in line with expectations, it said.
“Christmas is a peak trading period for the business; we have been encouraged by the start to this season with sales marginally ahead of expectations,” the company said. “All internationally sourced seasonal stocks have been landed in the UK, with a significant proportion already delivered to store.”
At 1520 GMT, the shares were up 12% at 56.92p.
