11th Aug 2015 06:49
LONDON (Alliance News) - Card Factory PLC Tuesday reported growth in sales in the first half of its financial year, driven by a rise in like-for-like sales and new store rollouts, and said it is confident for the full year.
The card and gifts retailer said that total sales in the six months ended July 31 rose 8%, although this was slower than the 8.9% growth it reported in the same period the prior year. Like-for-like store sales increased 2.7%, against a 2.6% comparative.
Card Factory said that its new store rollout programme and further growth in complementary online activities helped to boost sales. It opened 36 stores in the period, giving it a total of 800 stores, and said it plans to have opened 50 stores over the course of the full year.
Card Factory confirmed that it will return surplus capital to shareholders, for which it will provide details when it releases its interim results on September 22.
"It is pleasing to report that the group traded well in the first half of the current financial year with good growth continuing from the existing store estate and new store roll out programme, as well as our developing online proposition. We were delighted to open our 800th Card Factory store in Reading, and to relaunch an enhanced transactional Card Factory website," Chief Executive Richard Hayes said in a statement.
"We remain confident of our ability to continue to increase market share whilst delivering on all four pillars of our growth strategy," he added.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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