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FTSE 250 greeting cards retailer Card Factory (LON:CARD) reported that, while total sales grew by 3.2% during the six months ended 31st July, like-for-like sales declined by 0.2% due to bad weather and a weak consumer environment. Shares in the company dropped by 9.77% to 190.20p (as of 13:30 BST).
Management said that despite these difficulties, the business remained cash generative and that they expect to pay total dividends of 5-10p per share this year.
Chief executive officer Karen Hubbard commented: “Taking into account the above, the Board’s current expectation is that EBITDA for the year will be in the range of £89m to £91m. Our key Q4 trading period will of course be critical in determining the final result for the year, but we believe we are well positioned to deliver a good performance in our important Christmas trading season“.