THIS ANNOUNCEMENT
CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE
MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 WHICH FORMS PART OF
DOMESTIC UK LAW PURSUANT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION
(WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("UK MAR"). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE
INFORMATION WILL BE CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN.
28
January 2025
Halfords Group
plc
Upgrade
to FY25 profit expectation based on recent trading and continued
strategic progress
Recent
Trading
-
Like-for-like (‘LfL’)
sales growth was positive in Q3 (H1: flat) in both Retail and
Autocentres.
- Retail traded well over the peak
trading period as our product and promotional proposition resonated
well with customers, notably in Cycling, where Christmas gifting
contributed to LfL sales growth of 13.1% in December.
- Autocentres saw strong performance in
the more profitable and strategically important Services,
Maintenance and Repair (‘SMR’) market. LfL SMR sales growth in
consumer garages reached 10.3% in Q3, supported by our Fusion
Motoring Services rollout and offsetting continued weakness in the
consumer tyres market.
-
Current trading has
benefitted from the colder weather in more recent weeks with
Motoring Product delivering LfL sales growth in January of
5.5%.
-
Hedged FX rate in cost of
goods sold expected to be better than previously anticipated in
FY25.
-
Freight headwind now
expected below the previously guided £4m-£7m range.
-
Costs continue to be
well-managed and on-track to exceed the £30m full-year target
previously indicated.
FY25
Outlook
In the interim results
announcement published in November we noted ongoing market
volatility through the first half of FY25 and indicated that we
expected this to continue through the second half of the year. In
recent months we have seen an improvement in trading alongside
continued progress on a number of key initiatives, including our
pricing and promotion strategies and cost reduction measures.
Cumulatively, these factors lead us to expect FY25 underlying
profit before tax of £32m to £37m.
FY26
and Beyond
Despite the recent
positive performance, there remains considerable uncertainty
regarding the outlook for the UK consumer in light of measures
introduced by the Autumn Budget, which take effect from April and
hence are in force for the entirety of FY26. While the impact of
changes to the minimum wage and national insurance contributions
are relatively easy to quantify, adding c.£23m to our direct labour
costs in FY26 alone as announced in November, their effects on the
demand environment and health of the broader economy are harder to
predict. We also continue to expect to see inflation passed through
on managed services. We continue to work on possible mitigations
for the additional costs we face and will share our plans alongside
our FY25 results.
Next
Update
Our next update will be
an FY25 trading statement in April.
For
further information:
Investors:
Holly
Cassell, Director of Investor Relations &
ESG
investor.relations@halfords.co.uk
Media:
Rob
Greening / Steve Marinker / Jane Glover, Sodali &
Co. halfords@sodali.com
The
person responsible for releasing this announcement is Tim O’Gorman,
Company Secretary.
Notes
to Editors
www.halfords.com
www.avayler.com
www.tredz.co.uk
www.halfordscompany.com
Halfords is the UK’s
leading provider of motoring and cycling services and products.
Customers shop at 377 Halfords stores, 2 Performance Cycling stores
(trading as Tredz), 636 consumer and commercial garages (trading as
Halfords Autocentres, McConechy’s, Universal, National Tyres and
Lodge Tyre) and have access to 268 mobile service vans (trading as
Halfords Mobile Expert and National) and 502 commercial vans.
Customers can also shop at halfords.com and tredz.co.uk for pick up
at their local store or direct home delivery, as well as booking
garage services online at halfords.com. Through its subsidiary
Avayler, Halfords also sells the Group’s bespoke, internally
developed software as a service (“SaaS”) solution to major clients
in the US, Europe and Australia.
Cautionary
statement
This report contains
certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial
condition, results of operations, and businesses of Halfords Group
plc. These statements and forecasts involve risk, uncertainty and
assumptions because they relate to events and depend upon
circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of
factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as at
the date of this announcement. Nothing in this announcement should
be construed as a profit forecast. Except as required by law,
Halfords Group plc has no obligation to update the forward-looking
statements or to correct any inaccuracies therein.
