Bicycles to car-parts group Halfords today posted an unexpected rise in first-half profit, buoyed by a combination of a growing interest in cycling, a warm summer and improved product ranges.
The group, which is in the early stages of a £100m, three-year turn around plan to boost slumping sales, said adjusted pretax profit rose 6.4% to £44.6m.
That was comfortably ahead of analysts' average forecast for a decline to £39m in the six months to September and sent Halford's shares higher today.
Its shares have climbed over 50% since hitting a low for the year in June, after it cut its dividend by one third to help fund its strategy and warned profit would not reach the £72m made in its last financial year until 2016.
Halfords' chief executive Matt Davies said today that while first-half trading had been good, there was still much work to do at the company which trades from over 460 Halfords stores in the UK and Ireland and 290 Auto centres.
"The weather undoubtedly really helped us. When you double your sales of sun glasses you know it was better weather than last year," Davies said.
Halfords' turnaround is focused on heavy investment in its online offering, staff training, new cycling ranges and store revamps to lift sales.
Group like-for-like sales rose 6.2% in the first half of its financial year with the strong performance led by a 7.7% rise in its retail division, which makes over 80% of group revenue.
Cycle repairs and car maintenance sales - both growth areas for Halfords - rose 27.7% and 8.8% respectively.
Underlying sales at the group's smaller vehicle service and repairs arm, Auto centres, fell 2.1%.
