Card Factory reports ‘record’ year
Card Factory has reported record results for the year ending 31 January with a rise in both sales and profits.
The greeting cards retailer, which floated on the Stock Exchange last year, saw its revenues increase by 8.1% to £353.3 million in the period with like-for-like sales edging up 1.8%.
Underlying EBITDA grew by 9.6% to £88.2 million while underlying operating profit climbed by 8.9% to £79.4 million.
Meanwhile, statutory pre-tax profit was £42.7 million compared to £30.1 million in the previous year. This reflects pre-IPO financing charges and £22.8 million of non-underlying expenses principally relating to charges associated with the IPO and senior debt refinancing.
Card Factory chief executive Richard Hayes said: “It is pleasing to report another record year for Card Factory in terms of both revenue and profit. Our team has once again delivered on each element of our growth strategy, cementing our position as the UK’s leading specialist greeting cards retailer. Our unique, vertically integrated model remains a real point of difference and a source of long-term competitive advantage in what is a very resilient market.“
The company opened a net new 51 stores in the year to bring the total estate to 764 at the year end. Card Factory said it remains confident of delivering approximately 50 net new openings in the current financial year.
Hayes added: “Overall, we are in an excellent position and we remain confident of our future prospects. We will continue to strongly defend our market leading position, whilst maintaining our focus on delivering best-in-class margins.”
