Britain’s prolonged hot and dry summer has helped retailer Halfords upgrade its annual profit outlook after it said the unusually warm weather boosted demand for seasonal ranges.
The car parts to bicycle chain said the “heightened seasonal demand” had delivered extra profits in the “mid-single digit millions of pounds” since the start of the summer.
It adds to efforts to ramp up trade and offset rising costs across its garage business and the retail arm.
Halfords now expects current financial year underlying pre-tax profits of between £55 million and £65 million, up from £45.4 million in the 52 weeks to March 27 and ahead of previous guidance for £48.9 million to £55.1 million.
It said: “Halfords has continued to outperform over recent months.
“This reflects momentum in the underlying business as we continue to deliver against our strategic priorities alongside a very strong performance in seasonal categories, in part reflecting unusually warm summer weather.”
