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LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - British bicycles and car products
retailer Halfords on Wednesday reported a more than
doubling in first-half profit, boosted by a COVID-19-driven
cycling boom.
The firm said it made an underlying pretax profit of 56
million pounds ($74.3 million) in the six months to Oct. 2, up
from 25.9 million pounds in the same period last year.
Cycling has increased in popularity as many Britons avoid
traveling on public transport during the pandemic and
increasingly view it as a health and leisure activity.
Cycling products like-for-like sales leapt 54.4% in the
first half. That contrasted with a 23.7% fall in motoring
product sales, reflecting less car journeys during UK lockdowns.
Halfords' garage business, Autocentres, achieved total sales
growth of 38.7%.
The group said trading for the first five weeks of its
second half was "relatively strong". But it noted some impact on
trading as England's second national lockdown came into force on
Nov. 5.
It is taking a cautious view on the outlook, given the
seasonality of its business and the ongoing impact of the
pandemic.
Shares in Halfords, up 55% so far in 2020, closed Tuesday at
262.5 pence, valuing the business at 521 million pounds.
($1 = 0.7538 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kate Holton)
