In its first trading update since the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse (Display Monitor Vol 21 No 32), the company says that it has made a ‘good start to the year’, with stores performing ahead of plan.
Dixons Retail reported a strong performance in the UK and Ireland, with like-for-like sales up 4%, buoyed by strong electrical sales ahead of the World Cup in June. The Nordics also delivered a solid performance, against tougher comparatives, with like-for-like sales up 1%. In Southern Europe Greece reported 6% higher like-for-like sales, though the Spanish and Portuguese markets remain tough for the mobile business. Dixons’ Connected World Services division also had a good quarter, deploying a contract with a major global brand and continuing the roll-out of operations across Europe for Samsung and Media-Markt Saturn.
Carphone Warehouse saw like-for-like sales decline, as expected, by 6% due to a particularly strong performance in the prior year and difficult market conditions in Spain.
Sebastian James, group CEO said that integration of the two businesses is progressing well and that Dixons Carphone plc will join the FTSE 100 on 22nd September 2014.
