Halfords Group has today forecast higher earnings for this year after its annual profit nearly trebled, as more people took to cycling during the pandemic, encouraging the bicycle retailer to resume its dividend.
"In the longer-term, we remain confident in the future prospects for the UK's motoring and cycling markets and our ability to compete strongly in both," Halford's chief executive Graham Stapleton said.
Halfords said it expected pretax profit after IFRS 16 adjustments to exceed £75m in the current year, after pretax profit jumped 184% to £64.5m in the 12 months ended April 2.
The company's underlying earnings surged 72% to £96.3m.
Revenue rose by around 13% to £1.29 billion.
The company, which proposed full-year dividend per share of nine pence, said pent-up demand and the restrictions on foreign travel will give lead to higher demand for its touring and cycling products.
