Halfords chief buys stake

Halfords boss David Wild has spent £137,000 on shares in the bike and car parts retailer less than a week after slightly better than expected full-year profits. Wild bought 40,000 shares at 343p each, just a few pennies off the 52-week high of 346p. They were down near 200p last October. Profit before tax and exceptional items for the 52 weeks to 27 March rose to £92.4m from £90.2m the year before. Analysts had predicted £91.5m. A 0.3% drop in revenue to £794.7m still beat the £790m forecast. Like-for-like sales fell 3.3%. The car maintenance business delivered strong like-for-like sales growth, allowing the group to continue to grow its market share, while the cycling arm benefited from range development and government initiatives. Halfords recommended a final dividend of 10.9p a share, making a total of 15.9p for the year, up 5%. Top Director BuysTreveria (TRV) Director name: Mr Nicholas CournoyerAmount purchased: 7,750,000 @ € 0.14 Value: € 1,046,250New Europe Property Investments (NEPI) Director name: Mr Desmond de BeerAmount purchased: 100,000 @ € 2.02 Value: € 202,000Halfords Group (HFD) Director name: Mr David WildAmount purchased: 40,000 @ 343.00p Value: £137,200HydroDec Group (HYR) Director name: Mrs G LeatesAmount purchased: 120,000 @ 17.50p Value: £21,000Moss Bros (MOSB) Director name: Mrs Debbie Howard HewittAmount purchased: 111,111 @ 18.00p Value: £20,000Top Director SellsIntertek Group (ITRK) Director name: Mr William SpencerAmount sold: 59,941 @ 1,046.70p Value: £627,402 Halfords