Halfords share price up on FTSE 250 ahead of trading statement

Shares in Halfords were up on the FTSE 250 ahead of a trading statement from the cycling retailer, due out tomorrow.

In July the group said that its first quarter trading had been in line with expectations. Revenue jumped 9.6 per cent thanks to the acquisition of Nationwide Autocentres, while like for like sales dropped 1.9 per cent, thanks to bad weather, the World Cup and the general election.

Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said, "The integration of Autocentres remained on track [in Q1], whilst a focus on cost control was expected to aid the group in meeting current analyst earnings forecasts. Ahead of the update, market consensus opinion currently denotes a buy".

By 16:40 shares in Halfords were up 0.77 per cent on the FTSE 250 to 446.00 pence per share.