Card Factory’s Share Price Plunged 8% Amid an 11 Months Update

The Card Factory PLC (LON: CARD) share price plunged a maximum of 8% as of 10:44 GMT after announcing a trading update for the eleven months ending December 31, 2023. The company reported total sales of £476.9 million, a 10.2% increase from the previous year’s £432.6 million, demonstrating strong business momentum and effective strategy execution.

The leading UK specialist in greeting cards, gifts, and celebration essentials reported an 8.2% like-for-like (LFL) increase in in-store revenue, bolstered by the successful Store Evolution Programme and the combined appeal of cards and gifts.

The company witnessed LFL growth of 5.4% in everyday and seasonal card ranges, complemented by a 9.9% increase in gifts and celebration essentials, including significant growth in candles and soft toys.

Online sales showed a decrease of 12.8% LFL over the 11 months, but cardfactory.co.uk achieved a slight increase of 0.2%, reflecting improvements in online capabilities and customer experience.

Revenue growth from partnerships, including profitable collaborations with Matalan and Liwa Trading Enterprises and a £9.1 million contribution from the recently acquired SA Greetings.

The Christmas period saw robust trading, with LFL store revenue up 7.8% in November and December. This success was driven by more transactions, higher average basket values, a well-received range of seasonal cards and expanded gift offerings. 

The company’s online platform, cardfactory.co.uk, also experienced double-digit LFL sales growth during this period.

With these results, the Board anticipates delivering full-year adjusted profit before tax at the top of the market expectation range, between £58.4 million and £62.0 million, per company-compiled consensus estimates. 

Darcy Willson-Rymer, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are pleased to have delivered a strong performance over the Christmas period, further demonstrating the progress we are making on our strategic growth initiatives. Our value and quality proposition continues to resonate with customers at a time when value for money is as important as ever. Even during challenging times, consumers want to celebrate key life moments, and this was reflected in the positive performance that we saw in the Christmas trading period and throughout the year to date.”

Card Factory share price. 

The Card Factory share price fell 8.01% to trade at 98.88p from Monday’s closing price of 107.40p.