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LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - British retailer Halfords
raised its first-half profit outlook on Thursday as a
coronavirus-driven cycling boom continues but said it remains
cautious about the second half.
The group, which sells motoring and cycling products and
services, said its first-half pretax profit is now expected to
be more than 55 million pounds ($71.2 million), up from the 35
million to 40 million pounds previously guided.
Cycling has increased in popularity as many Britons avoid
travelling on public transport during the pandemic and
increasingly view it as a health and leisure activity.
Group like-for-like sales rose 22% year on year in the five
weeks to Sept. 25, it said, with cycling product sales jumping
46%, helped by improved supply to meet unprecedented demand.
Motoring product sales rose 7.5%, while Halfords' garage
business, Autocentres, achieved sales growth of 18%, prompting
the group to launch a campaign to recruit hundreds of
technicians.
However, Halfords is less optimistic about the second-half
outlook.
"The potential impact of second waves of COVID-19 now seems
more pronounced than just a few weeks ago, and the economic
impact of an end to the furlough (job retention) scheme and the
outcome of Brexit negotiations remains very uncertain," it said.
Shares in Halfords, up 7% this year, closed at 181.4 pence
on Wednesday, valuing the business at 360 million pounds.
($1 = 0.7725 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey
Editing by David Goodman)