Strong Christmas trading boosts Card Factory profits

Darcy Willson-Rymer, the chief executive officer, said it made progress with its growth strategy to drive the “strong performance” in recent months. It told shareholders that total sales grew by 10.2 per cent to £476.9m for the 11 months to December 31, compared with the same period last year.

Store revenues grew by 8.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis, with the firm highlighting continued demand for gifts and cards. Meanwhile, it said online like-for-like sales dropped by 12.8 per cent for the 11-month period. The retailer now “expects to deliver full-year adjusted profit before tax (excluding one-off items) at the top of the range of market expectations”, it said.

Mr Willson-Rymer said: “Our value and quality proposition continues to resonate with customers at a time when value for money is as important as ever.

“Even during challenging times, consumers want to celebrate key life moments and this was reflected in the positive performance that we saw in the Christmas trading period and throughout the year to date.

“Colleagues across all areas of our business have worked incredibly hard to deliver an improved experience for our customers this year.

“As we look ahead, we remain focused on delivering against our growth strategy by helping our customers to affordably celebrate all life’s moments.”

Mr Willson-Rymer told The Yorkshire Post that Card Factory had experienced a “really decent” Christmas trading performance. The second half of the financial year continued to build on the momentum the company saw in the first half, he added.

He said: "Consumers are telling us they want to continue to celebrate despite the tough times.

"Although we are not immune from the inflationary pressures we have achieved higher sales in stores with better service. We have been on a journey to make sure we are competitive in terms of pay, benefits and work culture."

He said the company normally employed 8,000 people, a figure which increased to 13,000 in the run up to Christmas.

Mr Willson-Rymer said the recently launched click and collect service had also enjoyed a “really good” take up.

He added: "We are looking at a high inflationary environment for the next several years. The retail world is always getting things thrown at us..but we have learned to pivot and be agile and work through things."

In the trading update, Card Factory said there had been a “very encouraging” performance at cardfactory.co.uk with double-digit LFL (life for like) sales growth in November and December.

The statement added: “The positive impact of our Store Evolution Programme enabled the optimisation of space to ensure the correct balance between Christmas cards, gifts and celebration essentials.”

Analysts at Peel Hunt said the update showed a “decent Christmas in a challenging sector” amid weak high street footfall.

Card Factory, which opened its first store in Wakefield in 1997, now has more than 1,000 stores in both the UK and Ireland.