Strong Christmas boosts expectations for Card Factory
The Card Factory has hailed a strong Christmas trading performance as it revealed year-on-year adjusted profit before tax is expected to be at the top of market expectations.
The company, a specialist retailer of greeting cards, gifts and celebration essentials, said it is anticipating adjusted profit before tax to be between £58.4 million and £62m.
In a trading update for the 11 months ending December 31, the business said total sales were £476.9m compared to £432.6m in the previous year, an increase of 10.2%.
Store revenue grew 8.2% on a like-for-like basis, with a strong Christmas trading performance seeing store revenue up 7.8% in November and December.
Darcy Willson-Rymer, Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are pleased to have delivered a strong performance over the Christmas period, further demonstrating the progress we are making on our strategic growth initiatives.
"Our value and quality proposition continues to resonate with customers at a time when value for money is as important as ever.
"Even during challenging times, consumers want to celebrate key life moments and this was reflected in the positive performance that we saw in the Christmas trading period and throughout the year to date.
"Colleagues across all areas of our business have worked incredibly hard to deliver an improved experience for our customers this year. As we look ahead, we remain focused on delivering against our growth strategy by helping our customers to affordably celebrate all life's moments."