Channel Register

Sales slide at PC World, Currys

DSGi CEO issues second profit warning

By Kelly Fiveash • Get more from this author

Posted in IT Channel, 10th April 2008 09:56 GMT

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DSG International (DSGi) shares fell nine per cent this morning following the retail giant’s second profit warning in under four months.

The firm’s CEO John Browett issued a statement today in which he admitted that customer demand in the UK and Ireland has been “lower than expected, with a negative impact on margins”.

He told the City that like-for-like sales in its Currys and PC World stores were down one per cent for the six months to 5 April 2008.

The slump has also blown a massive £30m hole in the electrical retail giant’s pre-tax profits. DSGi said it now expects to see between £200m and £210m for the year – consensus forecasts had initially been set at £242m.

Browett added that sales had been “challenging” across the UK, Italy and Spain in the “prevailing difficult economic environment”.

Customer spending has also hit DSGi hard with computer sales from PC World down ten per cent in the six month period. "It is clear that customers have become increasingly promotion- and deal-driven," said Browett.

Trading at the firm’s Italian chain UniEuro was even more disappointing, with like-for-like sales tumbling 14 per cent in DSGi’s second half period.

In January the company was forced to put out a profit warning to investors in which it admitted that trading in the run-up to Christmas had been below par, and fingered “generally weaker consumer environments” for its sluggish profit performance.

Browett, who was parachuted in by DSGi as the retailer’s new boss from Tesco in June last year, will announce the first phase of his biz review on 15 May.

Shares in DSGi are currently trading at 60.00 pence on the London Stock Exchange. ®

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