Sales outlook starts to improve for DSG…
DSG, the electrical retailer behind Currys, Dixons and PC World, yesterday posted a smaller-than-expected fall in quarterly sales and said that the outlook had improved slightly.
The firm also confirmed it had sold its loss-making Polish division for a nominal €1 (60p) to IDMSA Brokerage House, following the shedding of its other loss-making Swedish and Finnish business. The group’s shares yesterday lifted by 2.74 per cent to 27.34p.
It reported total group sales were down six per cent for the 16 weeks to 22 August and said like-for-like sales were also down six percent, beating analysts predictions for a 7–11 per cent drop. The trading figures are an improvement on the 11 per cent drop in sales it posted in the second half of the year.
Chief executive John Browett said: “We’re seeing some evidence that in fact it’s not going to be quite as bad as some of the more pessimistic scenarios around the economy, although we’re still in recession.”
“The outlook now looks less negative than it did in the spring,” he added.
In the UK sales were down more sharply with a 14 per cent drop in electricals and 15 per cent drop in computing. DSG said its computer retailer PC world has suffered from “poor” consumer demand for laptops and personal computers in the downturn.
But the group was bolstered by a strong performance in its Nordic regions, which lifted total sales. Its Nordic stores achieved a 16 per cent growth in sales and a nine per cent growth in like-for-like sales.
DSG’s shares slumped by up to 90 per cent last year as a drop in discretionary spending raised fears it might breach banking agreements. But the group allayed those fears when it raised over £300m in a share sale earlier this year and renegotiated borrowing rules. It is now in the process of a massive restructuring.