In Halfords last trading update in September they noted their recent spike in bicycle sales had sharply dropped.

Today Halfords PLC, the car parts and bicycle retailer announced its interim trading results which showed an improvement in group revenue and an increase in the interim dividend for shareholders.

The group saw sales of £533.5m which were up 1.8 percent, increasing Group gross profit by 1.6 percent. The companies total operating costs rose by 3.5% reflecting investments in their new 3-Gears training programme and associated wage uplifts.

The Board approved an interim dividend of 5.66 pence per share, an increase of 2.9 percent which will be paid on 22 January 2016 to shareholders with an ex-dividend date of 18th December 2015.

The trading update comes after British car parts to bikes retailer Halfords said in September a recent boom in bicycle sales had fallen off sharply in its second quarter, though strong trading across the rest of its retail business would keep it on track to meet profit forecasts.

Jill McDonald, Chief Executive, commented:

“In the first half the motoring side of the business performed well and in-store service sales grew strongly, reflecting our focus on this key area of differentiation. The Cycling performance in the second quarter was disappointing and, given the seasonal mix towards Cycling during the summer, this contributed to the decline in Group profitability for the period. Looking forward, there are plenty of reasons for us to remain confident that the Cycling market will continue to grow over the long-term.

Today I am announcing a new Group strategy called  Moving Up A Gear. After three years of investing to stabilise the foundations, improve service levels and grow sales, Halfords is now a fundamentally strong business, operating in markets with good growth prospects. However the modernisation process is not yet complete. Under the new strategy we will continue to invest to move from fixing the basics to enabling sustainable growth. There are a number of significant opportunities for further improvement, which include the leveraging of customer data and analytics, relentless innovation, a better shopping experience, enhanced customer service and services, and a fulfilment infrastructure for modern times. We look forward with confidence to growing Halfords over the long term.”

Jill McDonald joined the company as its new chief executive on May 11 from her role as CEO, UK & President, North West Division, Europe for McDonald’s.