Card Factory (LSE:CARD), the UK's largest specialist greeting card retailer, has launched a £15 million share buyback and maintained its full-year profit outlook after a difficult second half weighed on annual earnings.
The company said total group sales in the first three months of the new financial year are tracking in line with the same period last year, excluding the contribution from Funky Pigeon, the online card and gifting platform acquired in August 2025.
The board expects adjusted profit before tax for the year ending January 2027 to be in line with current market consensus, supported by anticipated sales growth across all channels.
It also plans further cost savings from its Simplify & Scale efficiency programme, and hedging arrangements covering 100% of foreign currency requirements and 80% of energy costs for the remainder of the year.
Card Factory flagged geopolitical uncertainty as an ongoing risk, noting potential pressure on container rates, energy costs and consumer sentiment, though it said the impact of Middle East conflict on input costs had been factored into its guidance.
For the year ended 31 January 2026, revenue rose 7.4% to £582.7 million, boosted by wholesale partnerships and the Funky Pigeon acquisition, but adjusted profit before tax fell 15.2% to £56.0 million as weaker high street footfall, particularly over the Christmas trading period, hit store transactions.
Like-for-like store sales were broadly flat at minus 0.2% for the full year, with a resilient first-half performance of plus 1.3% undermined by a second-half decline of 1.7%.
Free cash flow strengthened to £40.7 million from £28.8 million, which the company said supported both the buyback commitment and a final dividend of 3.7 pence per share, bringing the full-year dividend to 5.0 pence, up from 4.8 pence.