Bike and leisure sales boost Halfords

8th Oct 2009 07:02

Car and bike accessories retailer Halfords saw the rate of like for like (LFL) sales growth pick up in the second quarter of its financial year.With sales and margins improving the board said it expects full-year profit before tax to be in the range of £59m to £61m.Sales in the three months to 2 October 2009 rose 3.8% from a year earlier, while on a LFL they were 2.2% higher.In the six months to 2 October – the first half of the company’s financial year – total sales rose 3.4%, or 1.7% on a LFL basis.The company said that adjusting for the timing of Easter, half-year sales growth was 2.8%, equating to a LFL improvement of 1.1%.Demand for cycling products is one of the main drivers of growth, while demand for leisure products is healthy since the company expanded into areas such as camping.‘Our service initiatives, particularly fitting, and halfords.com are performing ahead of expectations and well above last year,’ said chief executive David Wild.The car maintenance business continues to trade strongly but sales of sat-nav devices continue to decline.Gross margin has improved, helped by a lack of stock overhang from the Christmas trading period and strong sales in higher margin products. The company warned, however, that margin growth is likely to slow in the second half of the company’s financial year.