Halfords reports 20 per cent revenue growth in its retail motoring and auto centres

The Redditch-based car and bicycle retailer Halfords has reported strong revenue growth of almost 20 per cent to almost £1.37 billion, growing its market share in retail motoring and autocentres, with revenues 6.5 per cent and 91.9 per cent respectively. It also reported cycling growth of 2.7 per cent despite supply chain disruption during the period.

The Group made three further acquisitions last year, the largest of which being Axle Group (referred to as “National"), making Halfords the largest motoring service provider in the UK with more than 70 per cent of revenues now coming from motoring, and almost 40 per cent from services.

Underlying profit before tax was £89.8 million.

Graham Stapleton, Chief Executive Officer, said: “The strength and resilience of this performance is a great illustration of Halfords’ transformation over the past two years. Our strategic shift towards motoring services has delivered higher, more predictable and more sustainable returns, and our acquisitions of both National and Iverson Tyres during the year mean that we are now the UK’s largest motoring service provider. Motoring now represents more than 70 per cent of Halfords’ total revenue, and the fact that our products and services in this category tend to be needs-based rather than discretionary will help us to navigate our way through the well-documented macroeconomic uncertainty that we are currently seeing.

"We are determined to do everything that we can to help our customers during the current cost of living crisis through initiatives such as our recently launched Motoring Loyalty Club and our second hand bike exchange.

"We are continuing to play a key role in helping consumers to choose electric forms of transport and are constantly investing in the training and upskilling of our technicians in this critically important area. Sales of e-bikes, e-scooters and accessories were up 74 per cent on two years ago, and servicing for electric cars in our garages was up 140 per cent year-on-year. We have also rolled-out free electric bike trials to encourage customers to make the switch and are the first mainstream retailer to offer an end-to-end EV charging solution for the home.

"While rising inflation and declining consumer confidence will naturally present short-term challenges for any customer-facing business like ours, we remain confident in Halfords’ long-term growth prospects due to our service-led strategy and the enduring strength of our brand, people, products and services.”