LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - British bicycles and car
products retailer Halfords warned that it was likely
that sales would drop sharply as a result of government measures
to prevent the spread of coronavirus, prompting it to try to
save cash.
The company said it would suspend its dividend and try to
negotiate with landlords for rent relief, adding that it was
confident that it could operate within its debt facilities.
Halfords said that it was planning for a sales decline of
25% during its new financial year which starts in April, with
the April-June period worst affected.
"Given the rapidly changing situation, there is no certainty
on the severity or duration of the impact on the business and so
we are not providing formal profit guidance for FY21 at this
time," Halfords said on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by James Davey)