UK consumer electronics retailer Dixons Plc beat forecasts with first-half profits of £90.8 million and said like-for-like sales in the eight weeks to January 6 had risen 6%. Retail like-for-like sales during the Christmas period grew by 6% and first half comparable sales across the group were 4% ahead, the company said.
Underlying pre-exceptional pre-tax profit, excluding Freeserve losses, in the 28 weeks to November 11, was down from £92.5 million in the same period the previous year, on sales up 27% at £2.2 billion. Dixons issued an interim dividend of 1.25 pence, up from 1.05 pence in the previous first half, an increase of 19%.
Analysts had forecast pre-tax pre-exceptional profits of £82 to £88 million, excluding losses from Internet service provider Freeserve, which the group agreed before Christmas to sell to France's Wanadoo in a 2.6 billion euro all-share deal. Dixons said as at January 8 the deal valued its shareholding in Freeserve at over £880 million..
The company said underlying gross margins at its UK retail division continued at a similar level to the second half of last year, although this represented a 1.3 percentage point decline year on year.
