Halfords has posted stronger than expected profits and in the year to 28 March underlying pre-tax profits rose by 6.4% to £38.4 million.
Shareholders were told that the increase to the minimum wage was partly blamed for £33 million of costs to inflation.
Total revenues rose by 0.1% to £1.72 billion and like-for-like growth of 2.5% in the year.
Henry Birch, chief executive of Halfords, said, “I am very pleased to be announcing a positive set of results for Halfords.
“The business has delivered a strong financial performance, made good strategic progress and has a clear plan in place to tackle external inflationary forces.
“It is an exciting time to be joining and I see significant potential to optimise and grow this fantastic business.”