Dixons Carphone, the electricals and mobile phone retailer, said today it was on track to make its full year profit targets as sales of televisions during the soccer World Cup helped it meet quarterly forecasts.
The group, which issued a huge profit warning in May, said like-for-like sales were flat in the 13 weeks to July 28, its fiscal first quarter.
Sales on the same basis were flat in the UK and Ireland, where it trades as Currys PC World and Carphone Warehouse.
In its home market demand for televisions was offset by weaker sales of white goods, like fridges and cookers, and of mobile phones.
In the Nordics, where the group trades under the brands Elkjøp, Elgiganten and Gigantti, underlying sales were also flat. However, in Greece, where it trades as Kotsovolos, they were up 9%, strongly outperforming the market.
The group maintained its forecast for a full 2018-19 year pretax profit of around £300m, down from £382m made in 2017-18.
"We’ve made good progress in setting a clear long-term direction for the business, one that sharpens our focus on the core, and that better joins up both our offer to customers and our business behind the scenes," the company's chief executive Alex Baldock, who joined the company in April, said.
Baldock, who said in June it would take years to turn around the group's fortunes, said he would update on his plans in December.
Adding to its problems, Dixons Carphone revealed in June it had become the victim of a major cyber attack for the second time in three years.
Dixons Carphone Ireland sees strong Q1 trading
Dixons Carphone in Ireland reported "strong trading" over the first quarter of 2018/2019 with increased market share in all categories including TVs, computing, mobile phones and white goods.
Mark Delaney, Managing Director of Dixons Carphone in Ireland, said its sales growth reflected an increasing demand from customers for "better quality and more technologically advanced products".
As consumers adopt smart home technologies in larger numbers, Dixons Carphone recently launched Google Home and Google Mini in the Irish market over the summer.
Mr Delaney also noted increased demand for high-end kitchen appliances and premium Smart TVs.
The company continues to invest in its bricks and mortar stores across the country by creating 3 in 1 superstores which bring the Carphone Warehouse brand with Currys PC World together under one roof.
The latest of these superstores will open in Waterford this month.
"We anticipate further strong growth as we head into one of the busiest periods of the year in the run up to Christmas which saw record growth for us last year. To meet this demand, Currys PC World recently launched a new online platform in July, which delivers a market leading shopping experience for customers," Mr Delaney added.
