Dixons Carphone reports fifth consecutive Christmas of growth
Dixons Carphone today reported its "fifth consecutive year of Christmas growth" and said it's on track to meet expectations with its full year profits.
The figures
Like-for-like revenue in the UK & Ireland was up six per cent in the 10 weeks to 7 January, while southern Europe saw a five per cent increase. The Nordics recorded a one per cent dip in revenue.
This all added up to total group like-for-like revenues increasing by four per cent.
Shares in the company were down 4.8 per cent by midday.
Why it's interesting
Dixons Carphone said Black Friday 2016 was the company's biggest yet, with trading in the UK stretching "further across the week as well". Meanwhile, customers across the Nordics have taken Black Friday truly to their hearts, the group said, "although the Nordic market was a little quieter than normal across the period".
Dixons Carphone said all its markets had a strong year online, with significant growth, including white goods – but added that "patchy availability" of the larger, higher margin phones and tablets made these categories tougher in 2016. However, the firm said it does not expect to experience the same issues in 2017.
The positive message contained within today's trading update is a turnaround from the company's warning before Christmas that it was "planning for the possibility of more uncertain times ahead".
What Dixons Carphone said
"Generating a successful Christmas means starting planning in January, and the teams are already hard at work making sure that our next Christmas season will be even better," said group chief executive Seb James.
"I would like to thank my remarkable, hard-working and resilient colleagues for the time and effort that they have put in over this holiday period to achieve these results. I am very proud to be a part of this great company, as we look forward to another year of innovation and growth."
In short
Despite a warning over uncertainty before Christmas, the company seems to be maintaining its positive attitude in the wake of the Brexit vote.