Darty swings back into the black
DARTY, Europe’s third-largest electrical goods retailer, swung back to profitability at the net level in its fiscal year ending in April, thanks to lower one-off charges.
The firm, which competes with Metro’s Media-Saturn and UK giant Dixons, yesterday said there were signs consumer confidence was again improving, but its markets still remained challenging.
Like many of its rivals, Darty is facing weak consumer spending and competition from online retailers.
With some 400 stores in Europe, Darty has responded by cutting costs, exiting loss-making operations in Italy, Spain, Turkey and the Czech Republic, and focusing on its core markets of France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
It bought online company Mistergooddeal last year to enlarge its presence in the online retail sector.
Darty posted a net profit of €13.8m (£9.9m) in the year to 30 April, reversing a loss of €6.6m in the year-ago period, while operating profit rose to €60.3m from €53.4m.
The operating result before taxes and exceptionals fell to €74.9m from €85.5m, including a €7.7m loss related to Mistergooddeal.