Card Factory 11-Month Sales Rose 28%, But Online Sales Hurt by Postal Strikes

By Ian Walker

Card Factory PLC said Tuesday that sales for the 11 months ended Dec. 31 were 28% higher than the same period of the previous year as it benefited from customers returning to the high street, although online sales were hurt by postal strikes as well as the return to stores.

The U.K. retailer of greeting cards and complementary products said that store revenue grew 7.1% on a like-for-like basis, but online sales were down 28% due to the impact of Royal Mail strikes.
Group sales for the 11 months were 432.6 million pounds ($527.1 million) compared with GBP337.3 million for the same period a year earlier.
Still, the company expects to beat market forecasts for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the fiscal year. For the year ended Jan. 31, Card Factory expects to report Ebitda of at least GBP106 million compared with a consensus of GBP96.9 million, leading to a pretax profit for the year of GBP48 million.
Card Factory has continued to successfully manage inflationary pressures during the year and energy costs have been hedged until September 2024, it said.
“Whilst remaining mindful of the challenging economic backdrop, we take confidence in our compelling value for money proposition and the level of ongoing customer demand,” the company said.
Earnings for the year ended Jan. 31 are due to be reported on April 25.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com