Carphone Warehouse raises profit forecast
CARPHONE Warehouse has raised its full-year profit guidance for the third time in six months after a surge in demand for smartphones.
The group said it expected strong growth for the rest of the year, particularly with its joint venture with Best Buy Mobile business in the US.
It said it expected net profit for the year to the end of March to be about £47m – above the £40m-£45m it indicated in January.
Chairman Charles Dunstone said: “The macro environment will undoubtedly present challenges but we are well positioned in each of our businesses and we are targeting 40 to 45 per cent EPS (earnings per share) growth for our 2011 financial year.”
Carphone, which demerged its telecoms arm TalkTalk last month, said underlying EPS for the year ended March would be 8.0-8.4 pence, up from four pence the year before.
Like-for-like revenues at the group’s European business were up three per cent at constant currencies in the final quarter, while customer connections at Best Buy Mobile were up 34 per cent.