Halfords revises up profit forecast as it prepares for electric revolution

Halfords has upgraded its full-year 2022 profits guidance after reporting a strong first-half performance.

The motoring and cycling products giant has seen revenue grow by almost 20% on its fully-year 2020 figures – powered by a huge rise in turnover of 88% in its Autocentres division.

On the back of this, Halfords has revised up from £75m its full-year profit guidance to between £80m-90m.

The firm also said it is on track to train 2,000 technicians to work on electric vehicles by the end of its financial year, meaning that each outlet will have a at least two working there.

Graham Stapleton, chief executive officer, said: “We are delighted to have delivered a strong H1 performance, driven by market share gains in Motoring products, Garages and our mobile services business, which now account for more than two thirds of our revenue. We also continued to see a significant contribution from areas of strategic focus, with revenue from Group Services, Online and B2B, all growing by more than 75% on a two-year basis. In cycling, demand levels remain good, and we are pleased with the current availability of kids bikes and e-bikes as we head into the Christmas trading period. We have carried good sales momentum into H2 across our business, supported by the easing of supply chain disruption. This has enabled us to increase our FY22 underlying profit before tax guidance to between £80m and £90m.

“We are seeing significant growth in the number of customers choosing electric forms of transport, and we continue to have a market-leading position in the servicing and repair of electric vehicles. Sales of e-bikes, e-scooters and accessories grew by more than 140% on two years ago, and servicing for electric cars in our garages was up 120% year-on-year. We have already invested in the training of more than 1,300 electric technicians and are on track to train 2,000 by the end of FY22, equating to more than two per store or garage. This number will double next year.”

“There is good momentum in our existing business, the strategically important area of Motoring Services continues to grow strongly, and our recent acquisitions are all performing well. As a result, despite the challenging trading environment, I am very excited about our future growth prospects.”