Carphone Warehouse and Dixons deliver rise in profits ahead of £3.7bn tie-up
High street stalwarts Dixons and Carphone Warehouse both revealed strong results yesterday ahead of their £3.7bn merger later this year.
The owner of Currys and PC World reported an underlying profit before tax of £166.2m in the year to 30 April – up 10 per cent on the previous year.
Chief executive Sebastian James said he could see “early glimmers” of a consumer recovery, which he expects to continue throughout the year and shrugged off concerns about interest rates rises.
The group said it had enjoyed a strong start to the new year, driven by TV sales ahead of the World Cup, which were up 49 per cent.
The European Commission gave the go-ahead earlier this week for Dixons’ merger with Carphone Warehouse. The firms said it was progressing well, with shares due to start trading on 7 August.
Analysts were initially sceptical of the deal and disappointed with targeted annual cost savings and synergies of £80m. However, after an initial fall, shares have since rallied.
Carphone Warehouse also posted strong results, reporting a 14 per cent rise in its underlying earnings to £151m in the year to 29 March.
The performance was helped by a 5.3 per cent increase in like-for-like revenues.