Card Factory (LON: CARD) shares rose in early trade today after the greeting cards retailer held its full-year profit guidance. Half-year sales growth came only from an acquisition, and like-for-like store sales fell 2.0%.
The shares opened at 75p and stood at 74.4p at 08:11 London time, up 2.3% on yesterday’s close of 72.7p. That is still below the 76.5p closes of the 30th of July and late August, and well above the 60.1p low of late March. The move is consistent with the guidance rather than proven to be caused by it.
The company, which runs 1,126 stores, reported before the London open. Revenue for the six months to the 31st of July rose 5.3% to £260.8m, but excluding Funky Pigeon, the online personalised cards business it bought in August 2025, sales were broadly flat. Adjusted pre-tax profit, which strips out one-off items, fell 3.8% to £12.7m as the company invested in digital and international operations.
Chief executive Darcy Willson-Rymer said:
We are confident of delivering full-year expectations with strong Golden Quarter plans in place, supported by significant product newness and a further strengthening of our great value offer.
Darcy Willson-Rymer, Chief Executive Officer, Card Factory
Store like-for-likes, meaning sales from stores open a year or more, fell 2.0% in a market where the company put footfall about 3.5% lower. Product margin improved 180 basis points to 69.6% of sales, and free cash flow turned positive at £0.8m from minus £6.3m. Net debt, excluding leases, rose to £87.4m.
| Measure | Six months to 31 July 2026 | Six months to 31 July 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £260.8m | £247.6m | +5.3% |
| Adjusted PBT | £12.7m | £13.2m | (3.8%) |
| Adjusted EPS | 2.9p | 2.8p | +1.6% |
| Interim dividend per share | 1.4p | 1.3p | +7.7% |
| Net debt (exc. leases) | £87.4m | £78.9m | +£8.5m (+10.8%) |
The board said it remains confident in full-year adjusted profit expectations, which it weights to the second half. Its own compilation of expectations, as at yesterday, averages £56.7m, in a range of £54.0m to £59.0m, against £56.0m last year. The company added that store like-for-likes have improved since the half-year and returned to positive growth in recent weeks, without giving a figure.
That makes this a hold-the-line update rather than an upgrade. Delivery now rests on the Golden Quarter, the Halloween-to-Christmas peak, when the company’s trading will show whether the recent improvement lasts.