Dixons Carphone grows sales and profit but warns of ‘uncertain’ times ahead
Dixons Carphone has reported an increase in both sales and profit in the first half of its financial year which the company attributed to the success of a range of new initiatives.
In the 26 weeks to 29 October, group headline pre-tax profit climbed by 19% to £144 million while group like-for-like revenue rose by 4% with growth across all divisions.
Total reported revenue increased to £4.87 billion from £4.39 billion a year earlier as the business benefited from the weakening of the Pound against the Euro and Norwegian Krone following the EU referendum.
Seb James, Dixons Carphone chief executive, said: “Overall, it has been a strong start to the year. The teams across the business have achieved this through the successful execution of a wide array of initiatives.
“These have varied from an extremely ambitious property programme in the UK and Ireland that is delivering exactly as expected, the commissioning of the most modern small products warehouse in Europe for our Nordic business, the near completion of our merger activities across the group, the integration of two ancillary businesses including the UK’s largest independent reseller of multiplay products, a totally new services proposition in Leeds, and a great many more.”
Like-for-like revenue in the UK rose by 5% in the period. Meanwhile, like-for-like revenue in the company’s Nordics and Southern Europe businesses increased by 2% and 7% respectively.
The company said it had not seen any effect on consumer demand following the Brexit vote but is planning for the possibility of more “uncertain” times ahead.
James added: “We have been focusing on reducing our fixed cost base, identifying areas of potential market share growth if the world becomes a tougher place for our competitors, and generally preparing for all eventualities – just in case. We are also planning our offer so that potential currency impacts are minimised for the customer.”
