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OMG, our merger is working, LOL – Dixons Carphone CEO

Sales up, profit beating expectations ... nope, no catch

The merger seems to be working out for Dixons Carphone — both sales and profits are up, according to a trading update for Q4 and fiscal 2015.

The company said like-for-like group revenue for the 17 weeks ended 2 May was up six per cent; rising 13 per cent in the UK and Ireland; up one per cent in the Nordics; up eight per cent in southern Europe.

The company was formed last summer by the £3.7bn merger of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse, and has seen growth as a result of the failures of Comet and Phones4U.

One-time Carphone rival Phones4U, which went under in September, previously had sales desks at 158 Dixon’s Currys and PC World shops which were converted into Carphone Warehouse shops.

The CPW stores-within-a-store concepts is being added at the rate of four a week, and some 233 are open.

Seb James, DixCar group CEO and former member of the Old Bullingdon club, said "good trading" in the quarter was helped by "market share gain" and promos during the Easter break.

Prelim sales for the full fiscal went up six per cent at group level, including an eight per cent spike in the UK&I, up four per cent in the Nordics, but down five per cent in sourthern Europe.

James said his teams should be pleased with the progress of integration, as "it has required not just hard work, but also pragmatism, and a willingness to roll up sleeves and get stuck in".

The plan is to consolidate heads offices, with Dixons' HQ in Hemel Hempstead set to shutter, and the pair share digs owned by the Carphone side of the family from October. The company will also start to move logistics, repair centers and open a total of 280 group mobile stores.

Dixons Carphone said that iD, it’s mobile data-focused MVNO with Three, is doing well, and James claimed “some of the features we plan for the summer are genuinely unique”.

As a result of all the swelling top line, DixCar said profit before tax for fiscal 2015 will be at the top end of previous guidance of £355m to £375m.

How accurate that is we’ll find out when full results are published on 16 July. Watch this space.®

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