Financial highlights
4.8%
like-for-like sales growth
+210bps
gross margin
3.2%
operating margin
£45.4m
underlying profit before tax
14.2%
return on capital employed
£25.3m
free cash flow
£11.2m
closing net cash
9.0p
dividend per share
FY26 was a 53-week period; all numbers are stated on a 52-week basis for comparability.
Chair's statement
The Halfords of today is far more service orientated, responding to the demands of the modern consumer in its retail stores as well as its Autocentres business.
CEO statement
Our FY26 results show that our Optimise initiatives are gaining traction, with disciplined execution beginning to translate into improved financial outcomes.
Strategy
Our Fit for the Future strategy includes clear progress markers, and just six months into the Optimise phase of our plan, we are showing real progress.
Like-for-like sales growth was 4.8%, operating margin was stable despite substantial inflationary headwinds, underlying profit before tax increased by c.4% and return on capital employed improved by 160bps to reach 14.2%. Disciplined execution is beginning to translate into improved financial outcomes.
ESG
Since refreshing our ESG strategy last year, we have made excellent progress towards our goals and ESG is increasingly being embedded into our culture, shaping decision-making across the business.
