* Pretax profit almost triples in fiscal 2021
* Growth held back by supply chain issues
* Sees further profit growth, but some margin pressure
(Adds analyst comments, share move, details on spending)
By Muvija M and Chris Peters
June 17 (Reuters) - British bikes and car parts retailer
Halfords resumed dividend payments and forecast more
earnings growth after a boom in cycling during the pandemic
tripled its annual profit.
The company has benefitted from a pick up in cycling as
Britons tried to stay fit during coronavirus lockdowns and avoid
public transport on their commutes to work.
However, it has struggled with supply chain problems and
said on Thursday margins could come under pressure as it
sharpens pricing amid growing competition from the likes of
Amazon and other online retailers.
Much will also depend on whether trading patterns change
again as the hospitality industry and international travel
potentially reopen to a greater extent.
But Halfords said its motoring business was currently
benefitting as more people use their cars for weekend getaways
while foreign travel restrictions remain.
And Hargreaves analyst Susannah Streeter was optimistic the
cycling boom would continue.
"The new trend of swapping four wheels for two isn't likely
to be reversed as more people return to work, with more people
adopting cycling for the commute," she said.
Halfords said it expected pretax profit after IFRS 16
accounting adjustments to exceed 75 million pounds ($105
million) this financial year after it jumped 184% to 64.5
million pounds in the 12 months ended April 2.
Revenue rose by around 13% to 1.29 billion pounds.
The company, which sells first bikes for three-year-olds and
electric bicycles costing up to 3,000 pounds each, proposed a
full-year dividend of 9 pence per share.
It plans to spend between 50 and 60 million pounds in the
medium term on its transformation plan aimed at making Halfords
a more service-led business.
($1 = 0.7149 pounds)
(Reporting by Muvija M and Chris Peters in Bengaluru Editing by
Rashmi Aich and Mark Potter)
Halfords (HFD)
