Dixons Carphone reports 'excellent' year

Dixons Carphone has said it achieved an “excellent” year with pro-forma headline pre-tax profit rising by 21% to £381 million following the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse.

In the 13 months to 2 May, total revenue reached £9.9 billion with group like-for-like revenue increasing by 6%.

In the UK and Ireland, like-for-like revenue was up 8% reflecting strong performances in both electricals and mobile. Trade was also boosted by the roll-out of the Carphone Warehouse stores within stores which contributed 1% of the like-for-like increase. 

Total statutory profit was £97 million after taking into account exceptional charges of £188 million, including a loss from discontinued operations of £114 million.

Sebastian James, group chief executive, said: "This has been a terrific first year for Dixons Carphone. We have seen excellent increases in both sales and profitability and we have made very encouraging progress with the tricky job of integrating these two great companies.

“At the same time, we have continued to generate strong customer satisfaction numbers, made significant strides in our Connected World Services business including our agreement with Sprint, and launched a brand new mobile network.”

Like-for-like revenue in the Nordics region grew by 4% as the business enjoyed a “sound” year after investing in various areas to strengthen its market position.

Looking at Southern Europe, the group’s business in Greece delivered strong like-for-like revenue growth although the Spanish business continued to operate in a tough marketplace. This meant that like-for-like revenue in Southern Europe was down overall.

James added: “I am acutely aware that there is no room for complacency in a sector which has seen unprecedented change, bringing both opportunities and challenges. We have set ourselves ambitious goals, not only financial, but also in terms of driving customer happiness, building a completely integrated company and delivering a brand new global services business with CWS. To achieve these, we will need to exhibit creativity, energy, resilience and toughness of purpose.”