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Dixons Carphone has released its trading update for the 10 weeks ended 5th January, revealing a like-for-like sales increase of 1%.
The retail group saw the most success in its UK electricals operation, especially when it came to gaming products, which were up 60% year-on-year. It also saw online growth of 8% over the period.
However, mobile sales were down 7% in the 10 weeks to 5th January, which Dixons Carphone says was impacted by lower volumes of 24 month postpay. Two-year like-for-like was flat in Q3 and like-for-like was down 3% YTD
“Peak trading was solid and in line with expectations, producing record sales against a tough backdrop. We continued to grow our leading electrical market positions in all territories, online and instore. In UK mobile, performance was as expected. Overall, our Peak trading was disciplined and well-executed, with stable gross margins,” said Alex Baldock, Group chief executive.
“In UK electricals we grew sales, despite a challenging backdrop and a declining market. Sales were strong in all categories, with standout performances in TV (where we drove the supersizing trend), Smart Tech and Gaming.
“As the first category to benefit from our plans to bring more excitement to our stores, Gaming was the star performer with sales up 60%. Credit and Online contributed strongly, with our Reserve & Collect service having a strong Peak as we started to bring stores and online closer together.”
Baldock also outlined how the Group’s international business accounted for almost 40% of its sales, producing “an excellent performance, with Sweden, Denmark and Greece particularly strong”.
As a result, Dixons Carphone’s full year PBT guidance of around £300m remains unchanged.
“We continue to make good early progress with our long term plans to deliver more engaged colleagues, more satisfied customers and a more valuable business for shareholders,” said Baldock.
“It will take time and much hard work to unleash the true potential of this business, but we’re on with it. I owe a big thank you to 42,000 capable and committed colleagues for all their tremendous hard work to deliver this resilient Peak performance while getting our transformation underway.”
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