Halfords falls 10% after holding annual outlook despite strong first half

Oct 21 — Halfords shares fell as much as 10% on Wednesday after the British ​bicycle and car parts retailer maintained its full-year outlook despite a strong first half, adding to investor concerns about consumer spending ‌in the months ahead.

The company reported a 7.1% rise in like-for-like sales for the six ⁠months to October 2, but ​left its annual adjusted pretax ⁠profit forecast unchanged.

Halfords shares had rallied ahead of the update, hitting ‌a near five-year high ‌on Tuesday as investors anticipated an upgrade after a hot ⁠summer boosted demand for camping equipment, ⁠cool boxes and bicycles.

Analysts said the decline reflected disappointment at the lack of an upgrade, as well as profit taking after the stock's roughly 97% gain this year.

Halfords, which has been pursuing a turnaround strategy under CEO Henry Birch, also said profit would be ‌weighted towards the first half because of ​higher marketing and technology spending later in the year.

The company has focused on sharpening pricing, expanding its motoring services business and growing its higher-margin e-bike offering.

"We move into the second half with confidence and look forward to sharing more detail on our progress at our interim results announcement later next month," Birch said in a ​statement.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Manjari Dhar said she was encouraged by early ‌signs that Halfords' ‌transformation plan ⁠was gaining traction.

However, Dhar said macroeconomic and political uncertainty could weigh on the more discretionary parts of Halfords' business in the second half.

British shoppers are facing rising energy costs and are wary about the potential ‌impact of next week's government ​budget on their finances, according to ‌a recent survey.

($1 = 0.7481 ⁠pounds)

(Reporting by ​Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Writing by Yadarisa Shabong. Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and ​Mark Potter)

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