Dixons Carphone has reported an increase in first-half profits to October 29 as well as market share gains across all markets.
For the financial year 2016/17, like-for-like revenues for the first half and second quarter both increased by four per cent. While total reported H1 revenue increased by 11 per cent to £4.8 billion, which benefited from the weakening pound against the euro following the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
The group saw headline profit-before-tax reach £144 million, a 19 per cent increase on the £121m in the same twenty-six weeks last year.
In the UK and Ireland, Dixons saw H1 revenue increase by three per cent to £2.9bn, compared with £2.8bn in same period last year.
Its electricals business delivered ‘good’ growth in the first half, driven by white goods, consumer electronics and multiplay bundled service, partially offset by decreased revenue from computing.
Sebastian James (pictured), group chief executive, said: “Overall, it has been a strong start to the year with like-for-like growth of four per cent and Headline PBT growth of 19 per cent. 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.”
Mr James concluded: “Looking forward, we remain optimistic about our ability to continue to gain market share in all our key markets, and, while we have still not seen any effect on consumer demand as a consequence of Brexit, we have been planning for the possibility of more uncertain times ahead. In particular, 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, and are ensuring that next year, as always, everybody can be absolutely sure that they won’t get a better deal anywhere.”
