Halfords Regulatory News (HFD)

7 Feb 2008 07:01

Halfords Group PLC07 February 2008 7 February 2008 Halfords Group Plc ("halfords") interim management statement Halfords sales growth continues Halfords, the UK's leading auto, leisure and cycling products retailer,announces an interim management statement for the 43 weeks to 25 January 2008. Sales for the period under review increased by 7.0% over the equivalent periodin 2007 with like-for-like sales increasing by 4.1%. In the 17 week period sincethe half year, sales have grown by 5.0% and like-for-like sales by 2.0%, againsta challenging comparison following an exceptional Autumn 2006 when Halfordsbenefited from certain one-off events, most notably the change in child seatlegislation. Adjusting for the impact of child seats, underlying like-for-likesales growth in this 17 week period was 3.2 %. Halfords resilience is demonstrated by the continuing sales growth in each corecategory. In the 17 week period: Car Maintenance has performed strongly,providing further evidence of Halfords core defensiveness. In-car technologydelivered year-on-year growth in both volume and value, underpinned by ourfitting and service strength, and Leisure benefited from the successful launchof an improved children's cycle range. Halfords' multi-channel capability was enhanced by the pre-Christmas launch ofour "Reserve on line, collect in store" service, which has resulted in almost100,000 orders being taken. Gross profit is in line with expectations and we remain on track to deliver afull year gross margin per cent in line with the guidance previously given. We now have 440 stores trading, which will grow to approximately 450 by the endof the financial year. Our intention remains to open at least 20 stores perannum in the medium term. Sales performance from our 19 international storesremains encouraging and we will therefore add further stores to the 16 stores inthe Republic of Ireland and 3 stores in the Czech Republic. Halfords has completed its initial £50m share buyback, (announced on 8 June2006), ahead of schedule on 31 January 2008, having bought back 14.8m shares forcancellation at an average price of 338.5 pence per share. The directors willcontinue to optimise the Group's balance sheet to enhance shareholder returnsand intend to continue the share buy-back as a flexible tool in balance sheetmanagement. Ian McLeod, Chief Executive, said: "These results are pleasing as they once again demonstrate the resilient anddefensive nature of Halfords. We continue to enjoy growth in each of our keysales categories underlining our strength, destination store status and marketleadership across Car Maintenance, Car Enhancement and Cycling. Following achallenging Autumn, like-for-like sales have strengthened, giving us confidencein our prospects for the rest of the financial year and we remain well placed todeliver full year profit in line with expectations." Preliminary Results Halfords will announce a trading update on Thursday 3 April 2008 and itspreliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2008 on Thursday, 5 June2008. Conference CallThere will be a conference call for analysts today, Thursday 7 February 2008, at08:00 hours (UK time), telephone number: 44 (0)20 7162 0025. Enquiries:Halfords Group plc (www.halfordscompany.co.uk)Tony Newbould, Investor Relations +44 (0)7753 809522 (on the day)+44 (0)1527 513113 (thereafter)Hogarth PartnershipJulian Walker, James Longfield +44 (0) 207 357 9477 Notes to Editors Halfords (www.halfords.co.uk) is the UK's leading auto, leisure and cyclingproducts retailer. The Group sells 11,000+ different product lines and employsover 10,000 colleagues across its 440 stores (421 UK, 16 Republic of Ireland and3 Czech Republic) and its online channels. Halfords has leading market positions in each of its core categories:• Car Maintenance - the UK's largest range of car parts and accessories;• Car Enhancement - in-car entertainment, satellite navigation, car body stylingand alloy wheels;• Leisure - bikes, cycling accessories, camping equipment and travel solutions. Halfords' own brands include Ripspeed, for car enhancement, Bikehut, for cyclesand cycling accessories, including the Apollo and Carrera brands and UrbanEscape for its premium range of camping equipment. The Group trades as Halfords through three formats: superstore (388 stores - ave10,000 sq ft) neighbourhood (17 stores - ave 5,000 sq ft) and Metro (31 stores -ave 2,000 sq ft). It also operates 4 stand-alone, specialist cycling storesunder the Bikehut fascia. Halfords offers high levels of customer service, including the 'we fit' offeringfor car parts, child seats, SatNav and in-car entertainment systems and the 'werepair' offering for bicycles. Cautionary Statement This report contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to thefinancial condition, results of operations, and businesses of Halfords Groupplc. These statements and forecasts involve risk, uncertainty and assumptionsbecause they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that will occur inthe future. There are a number of factors which could cause actual results ordevelopments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by theseforward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as atthe date of this announcement. Nothing in this announcement should be construedas a profit forecast. Except as required by law, Halfords Group plc has noobligation to update the forward-looking statements or to correct anyinaccuracies therein. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange