Halfords Group raised its full-year profit guidance for fiscal 2027 to around the top end of the upgraded consensus range as its "Optimise" turnaround strategy began to deliver, accompanying a set of full-year results that beat market expectations on underlying profit.
The UK motoring and cycling services and products retailer reported 52-week underlying profit before tax of £45.4m for the period ended 3 April, up 4.1% from £43.6m a year earlier and ahead of company-compiled consensus.
Group like-for-like sales rose 4.8%, with Retail up 4.1% and Autocentres up 5.8%, while gross margin expanded 210 basis points to 52.8%, its highest level in a decade.
Autocentres delivered the stronger divisional performance, with 52-week operating profit rising more than 20% to £22.3m, driven by an approximately 8% like-for-like sales increase in consumer garages.
Reported profit before tax swung to £43.6m from a £30m loss the prior year, boosted by the reversal of exceptional charges that had weighed on the previous period.
Free cash flow on a 52-week basis was £25.3m, leaving net cash of £11.2m at the 52-week period end, and the board recommended a final dividend of 6.0p per share, lifting the full-year payout by 0.2p to 9.0p.
An accounting policy change treating acquired-intangible amortisation as non-underlying raises the consensus baseline for fiscal 2027 underlying profit before tax from £45.3m to approximately £49m, and Halfords now expects to land near the top of the resulting range of £45.7m to £52.3m.
A half-year trading update for fiscal 2027 is planned for October.
