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Halfords has reported that its underlying profit before tax rose 6.4% to £38.4m for the year ended 28 March 2025, above the previously guided £32m to £37m range.
Alongside this, its group sales rose 2.5% on a like-for-like basis while its overall revenues inched up 0.1% to £1.72bn.
However, the company did post a reported loss of £30m primarily due to a non-cash goodwill impairment driven by the impact on discount rates of an increase in UK gilt yields over the last 12 months, as applied to revised forecasts which incorporate changes to National Insurance and minimum wage rates through the forecast period.
The company’s retail arm posted an underlying EBIT of £39m, slightly down YoY, with strong gross margin progress and tight cost control offset by higher wage rates and colleague reward.
Furthermore, its Autocentres arm saw its underlying EBIT (ex-Avayler) rise 21.2% to £18.3m, reflecting better buying, strong growth in service, maintenance and repair and productivity gains.
For this period the company stated that it achieved £35m of cost savings and £43m of free cash generation as momentum grew through the second half of the year.
This offset around £33m of inflation mostly due to increasing labour costs as a result of a circa 10% increase in the minimum wage and maintenance of an appropriate differential for skills.
Looking ahead Halford’s plans to offset another year of elevated inflation in FY26 through a combination of pricing, buying and cost opportunities. It stated that it continues to be somewhat cautious on the outlook for consumer spending.
CEO Henry Birch said: “I am very pleased to be announcing a positive set of results for Halfords. The business has delivered a strong financial performance, made good strategic progress and has a clear plan in place to tackle external inflationary forces.
“Halfords has a unique combination of retail stores, garages and mobile vans, a trusted brand, scaled omnichannel infrastructure, and access to valuable proprietary data. It is an exciting time to be joining and I see significant potential to optimise and grow this fantastic business.”
