Card Factory hails strong Christmas trading
Looking ahead, its board said it expects to deliver full year adjusted profit before tax at the top of the range of market expectations of £58.4m to £62.0m
Card Factory has revealed total sales for the 11 months ended 31 December 2023 increased 10% to £476.9m after it was boosted by strong Christmas trading.
The card retailer said that LFL store revenue jumped 7.8% in November and December, driven by the increased number of transactions and increased average basket value.
The group also said it has seen a positive impact of its Store Evolution Programme which “enabled the optimisation of space to ensure the correct balance between Christmas cards, gifts and celebration essentials”.
For the year it continued positive performance in Everyday and seasonal card ranges, with +5.4% LFL growth in the period. This was supplemented by strong growth in our gifts and celebration essentials ranges of +9.9% LFL, including double-digit growth in categories such as candles and soft toys.
Looking ahead, its board said it expects to deliver full year adjusted profit before tax at the top of the range of market expectations of £58.4m to £62.0m.
CEO Darcy Willson-Rymer 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.”
