UK greeting cards and gifts retailer Card Factory has reported a total revenue of £220.8m ($268.89m) in the first half (H1) of fiscal year (FY24).

This is an increase of 11.5% compared to HY23.

Revenues for the six months ending 31 July 2023 were driven by 10.0% growth in the retailer’s like-for-like (LFL) sales.

During the period, Card Factory reported store revenue grew at 10.5% LFL in H1 FY24. Online LFL sales were down 13.1% compared with H1 FY23.

The retailer delivered profit before tax (PBT) of £24.7m ($30.08m) in FY24, up 72.7% from £14.3m ($17.41m) in the prior year period.

Its adjusted PBT also increased 104.6% to £22.1m in the period.

Card Factory’s basic earnings per share (EPS) for H1 FY24 were 5.6p, an increase of 64.7% from 3.4p in HY23.

Over the period, the retailer’s net debt, excluding lease liabilities, reduced to £71.9m from £96.6m in FY23.

The retailer ended the period with 1,043 stores after opening 11 net new stores in H1 FY24 across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Card Factory chief executive officer Darcy Willson-Rymer said: "We are delighted to announce a strong performance in the first six months of this year. We continue to build the key foundations for growth through the delivery of our 'Opening Our New Future' strategy. Our value and quality proposition and the strength of our store estate resonates with customers and positions us well to navigate the challenging economic backdrop in the run-up to the Christmas trading season.

“Continued leveraging of the insights gathered from our investment in customer data is enabling us to evolve and optimise our store formats and ranges across cards, gifts and celebration essentials, all underpinned by our discipline in maintaining a resilient financial position.

"We continue to focus on the delivery of our long-term targets and in achieving our ambition of becoming a market-leading omnichannel retailer of cards and gifts."