Card Factory maintains full-year profit outlook after a strong Christmas

Card Factory has overcome wider retail gloom after a disappointing ‘golden quarter’ following an impressive festive trading season.

The Wakefield-based retailer saw sales increase by 4.7 percent in November and December, while store sales increased by 3 percent on a like-for-like basis.

The company’s turnover outperformed the wider non-food retail market for the period and the eleven months ending December, when sales grew 6.2 per cent to £506.6 million.

Card Factory attributed the result to an expanded range of products, such as confectionery and soft toys, which increased the average basket value, as well as purchases of gift and party items.

Following the performance, Card Factory continues to expect full-year adjusted pre-tax profits to be within market estimates of £65.7m to £67m.

Online like-for-like orders fell by 10 percent as the company prioritized higher-margin ranges of goods.

However, store sales grew by 5.7 percent thanks to the opening of 32 new points of sale and solid demand for cards and gifts.

In addition, partnership sales rose 23.5 percent to £18.9 million thanks to the acquisition of Irish greeting card retailer Garlanna and its entry into the United States with the acquisition of gift and party supplies wholesaler Garven.

“We are pleased to have achieved another successful Christmas trading period,” said Darcy Willson-Rymer, CEO of Card Factory.

He added: “Continued sales growth, combined with the benefits of our productivity and efficiency program, has enabled us to navigate a challenging retail environment and deliver robust performance.”

Card Factory warned of around £14 million in additional costs over the 2026 financial year due to recent Budget announcements, including the National Living Wage, which rises by 6.7 per cent to £12.21 per hour.

At the same time, employers’ national insurance contributions will rise to 15 per cent on staff salaries above £5,000, compared to the current levy of 13.8 per cent on wages above £9,100.

However, Card Factory still expects a mid- to high-single-digit percentage increase in adjusted pre-tax profits next year.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the company’s trading update would “calm some nerves about whether cash-strapped consumers would forego sending Christmas cards given the high cost of a stamp these days.”

He added: ‘Card Factory’s cheap prices often mean shoppers leave with much more than they originally intended to buy as they load up on the aisles.’

Card Factory Stock were 3.4 per cent higher at 93.8p late on Tuesday afternoon, although they are still down by more than a third in the past year.