Dixons Carphone raises profit guidance after strong fourth quarter
Dixons Carphone has said its pre-tax profit is likely to exceed the top end of expectations after group like-for-like sales increased by 9% in its fourth quarter.
In the 17 weeks to 2 May, like-for-like sales in the UK climbed by 13% while sales in the Nordic and Southern Europe regions rose by 1% and 8% respectively.
As a result, Dixons Carphone said pro forma headline pre-tax profit is expected to be slightly above the top end of the previously guided range of £355 million to £375 million.
In a statement, Dixons Carphone chief executive Sebastian James said: “Nearly a year into our merger, I am very pleased to be posting such a strong first full year trading statement for our combined Dixons Carphone Group. Good trading, driven by market share gain and by strong promotional periods – including Easter – coupled with successfully streamlining the group’s international assets, means that we are now guiding PBT to be slightly above the top end of our previously disclosed range for the full year.”
The group said it had made further market share gains across electricals and mobile in the UK & Ireland, Nordics and Greece.
In addition, it said the new Carphone Warehouse stores-within-stores were performing well and that there were now 233 open within CurrysPCWorld stores.
While growth in the Nordics was slower than in previous quarters due to the impact of the weaker oil price on the Norwegian economy and its currency, growth in Southern Europe was driven by a strong like-for-like performance in Greece, despite the political backdrop.
James added: “By the autumn, in the UK, Ireland and Sweden, we will have moved our head offices, begun moving our logistics and our repair centres, built integrated management teams and opened almost 280 new mobile stores.
“It is a truism that the time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining, and we will pursue continued investment in the business this year to do just that.
“We are making excellent progress but there is still much to do, and many areas of the business that we want to improve further. Delivery options, IT investment, extending our free warranty programme, further training for our colleagues, Norwegian pricing and others are in our sights to make us stronger in the long term.”
