Halfords Group PLC (LSE:HFD) has upped its profit expectations for the current year after better sales than expected in its latest quarter, especially in cycling.
Christmas gifting of bikes contributed to cycling's like-for-like sales growth of 13.1% in December, while autocentres also produced a strong performance in the more profitable and strategically important Services, Maintenance and Repair (SMR) market, said the London-listed group.
SMR sales in consumer garages grew 10.3% in the third quarter, while current trading has benefitted from the recent colder weather with Motoring Product delivering LfL sales growth in January of 5.5%.
Foreign exchange and cost savings have also moved in the Halfords’ favour said the statement.
All-in-all the improvement in trading allied to pricing and promotion strategies plus cost savings will mean 2025 underlying profit before tax of between £32 million to £37 million.
Halford repeated that the impact of changes to the minimum wage and national insurance contributions will add £23 million to direct labour costs in 2026 alone.
“We also continue to expect to see inflation passed through on managed services. We continue to work on possible mitigations for the additional costs we face and will share our plans alongside our FY25 results.”
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