Halfords, which was one of the few retailers to deliver growth during the recession, appears to have taken a tumble. Its pre-close trading update reported that like-for-like sales had fallen 4.1 per cent in the first half, with management expecting underlying sales for the remainder of the year to fall some 3 per cent.
The mature SatNav operation struggled the most - underlying sales there slipped 16 per cent. But, more surprisingly, the usually robust cycling business saw like-for-like sales fall 1 per cent, despite continued UK cycling market growth. Although the camping business managed mid-single digit year-on-year growth. What's more, the Autocentres business has traded slightly behind internal forecasts. Management expect, however, to deliver 12 per cent year-on-year profit growth - which, according to analysts, implies an impressive cost-cutting effort.
When: 11 September 2008
Price: 292p
Tip performance: +41%
