Halfords shares jumped on Thursday after it raised its profit guidance for the year following a strong trading period, helped by an unusually warm summer that lifted demand for seasonal products.
It was a short update from Halfords on Thursday. But the numbers did the talking and didn’t need embellishment.
The motoring and cycling retailer said it now expects underlying pre-tax profit for its 2027 financial year of between £55m and £65m, ahead of the £52.6m analysts had been expecting.
It said the outperformance reflected momentum in the underlying business as it delivers against its strategic priorities, alongside a very strong performance in seasonal categories, with the warm weather adding an estimated few million pounds of extra profit.
The company said its full-year performance would now be more heavily weighted towards the first half, as it steps up investment in technology and marketing in the second half.
Halfords shares were 12% higher in early trade.