Card Factory records strong Christmas trading
Card Factory has announced a profit upgrade alongside its trading update for the 11 months to the end of 2022.
The greeting cards, gifts, wrapping paper and bags retailer recorded sales of £432.6m, up from £337.3m recorded in the same period in 2021.
Card Factory said that its store revenue grew by 7.1% on a like-for-like basis, with strong Christmas trading delivered by improvements in both the number of transactions as well as average basket value.
The retailer saw a decrease in online sales of 27.6% on a year-on-year basis, as more customers returned to the high street and Royal Mail strikes caused widespread disruption. However, online sales were still up significantly compared to pre-pandemic levels, with an increase of 85.2% on a three-year basis.
Due to the company’s strong performance in the last year, the retailer now expects that it will see earnings for the year to January 31 to reach at least £106m. This would equate to a profit before tax of £48m.
“Whilst remaining mindful of the challenging economic backdrop, we take confidence in our compelling value for money proposition and the level of ongoing customer demand”, the group said in a statement.
“We have continued to successfully manage inflationary pressures during financial year 2023”, it added.