Card Factory PLC on Tuesday said it swung to half-year profit, as lockdown measures eased and high street spending picked up.

The company is a retailer of greeting cards, gifts, wrap and bags, based in Wakefield, England.

In the six months ended July 31, Card Factory swung to a pretax profit of £14.4 million, from a loss of £6.5 million a year prior.

The company reported revenue of £198.0 million for the first half, up 69% from £116.9 million a year earlier.

Like-for-like revenue rose 4.1% annually. Card Factory said that outcome reflects the ‘shift of customer spend back towards the high street and reversal of lockdown effects’.

The company said that its ‘value proposition’ will help it to cope with inflation, which will be managed through a combination of ‘efficiency measures and targeted price increases’.

Expectations for the second half of the financial year remain the same. Chief Executive Officer Darcy Willson-Rymer said that whilst the company was mindful of the challenging economic backdrop leading into Christmas, it was ‘well placed to navigate this’ and retain its focus ‘on transitioning Card Factory to a market leading omnichannel retailer of cards and gifts’.

The company declared no interim dividend, unchanged from last year.

Card Factory shares were trading 2.2% higher at 46.41 pence on Tuesday morning in London.

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