Shares in personalised gift and party supply business Card Factory grew eight per cent in early trade, as the firm resumed its dividend payout and reported a rise in revenue.
For the year ended January the publicly listed company said profit before tax was up 25 per cent to £65m.
The Wakefield-based business was also bolstered by the opening of 26 new stores, taking its total to over 1000 stores across the UK and Ireland.
Card Factory is targeting a similar number of openings this year.
It also rollout a new click and collect feature, with “7.8 per cent of all online orders to be collected in store as it builds its omnichannel proposition”.
Darcy Willson-Rymer, chief executive officer, at Card Factory, said:”I am delighted with the progress we have made through the year which would not have been achieved without the commitment and efforts of our colleagues.
“Now, three years into our ‘Opening our New Future Strategy’, Card Factory is financially and operationally a much stronger business.”
He added: “This means that we are able to both reinstate the dividend and invest in the future, while effectively navigating the ongoing economic environment.
“We have confidence in our strong value and quality customer proposition, and remain on track for both this financial year and for achieving our FY27 targets outlined at our Capital Markets Day in May last year.”
Analysts at Peel Hunt rated the company a ‘Hold’, following what it described a “solid” year of finances.
“The shares reflect the tough situation that CARD is in: it is doing well with the cards it has been dealt, but the ‘back-end weighted’ nature of the profit growth this year probably means the shares will remain range bound. Hold.”