(Reuters) -British bicycle and car products retailer Halfords Group reported a fall in annual profit on Thursday as footfall across its stores declined due to challenging market conditions and wet weather.
The prolonged cost-of-living crisis has forced Britons to cut spending on discretionary spending, particularly big-ticket purchases like electric bikes and satellite navigation systems.
“Elevated cost inflation continued to be a significant headwind, increasing the cost base by approximately 37 million pounds in fiscal 2024,” the company said in a statement.
In February, Halfords said it was seeing “very challenging and exceptional short-term market conditions” and was cautious about a recovery.
Underlying pre-tax profit from total operations came in at 36.1 million pounds ($45.62 million) for the year ended March 29, compared with 44.2 million pounds it logged in the previous year.
Analysts on average were expecting the firm to clock a profit of about 36.2 million pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus.
($1 = 0.7913 pounds)
(Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
Uma Rajagopal has been managing the posting of content for multiple platforms since 2021, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune. Her role ensures that content is published accurately and efficiently across these diverse publications.