Card Factory bounces back to profit as high street sales recover

Card Factory has swung back to a profit for the past half-year after the relaxation of pandemic restrictions helped sales surge.

Shares in the high street retailer moved higher in early trading on Tuesday.

The London-listed firm posted a pre-tax profit of £14.3 million for the six months to July, rebounding from a £6.5 million loss over the same period a year earlier.

It came as revenues lifted by 69.4% to £198 million for the six month period, compared with the previous year.

This was driven by an 81.8% jump in store revenues following a “shift of customer spend back towards the high street”.

The retailer held firm on its outlook for the full financial year following good sales momentum, despite highlighting cost-of-living pressures and the current inflationary backdrop.

Card Factory said it expects to be able to continue to manage cost inflation through “targeted price increases” and measures to improve efficiency.

Darcy Willson-Rymer, chief executive officer of the company, said: “We are pleased to report a strong performance through the half which reflects continued good momentum within the business, as well as the reversal of lockdown trends with customers choosing to return to the high street.

“The pronounced shift in spend back towards stores supports our continued conviction in the value of our store estate within our customer proposition and as an enabler in our omnichannel ambitions.

“Whilst we remain mindful of the challenging economic backdrop as we head towards the Christmas season, we feel well placed to navigate this and retain our focus on transitioning Card Factory to a market leading omnichannel retailer of cards and gifts.”

Shares in the company improved by 1.4% to 46.05p in early trading.