Dixons Carphone Q4 2015/16 Trading Statement

RNS Number : 1961Z

Dixons Carphone PLC

25 May 2016

 

Dixons Carphone plc 

Continued momentum in Q4. A very strong year for Dixons Carphone.

Trading Update (16 weeks ended 30 April 2016)

•     Group Headline PBT now expected to be between £445m and £450m for the year, in the top half of previous guidance[1]

•     Group like-for-like revenues up 5% in Q4 and in the full year

•     Year-end net debt expected to be below £300m

•     Further market share gains across electricals and mobile in the UK & Ireland, Nordics and Greece

•     Continued improvements in customer satisfaction and price competitiveness across all key markets

Like-for-like revenue[2]	Q4	H2	FY
UK & Ireland	4%	5%	6%
Nordics	9%	6%	4%
Southern Europe	0%	4%	4%
Group	5%	5%	5%

Seb James, Group Chief Executive, said:

"I am delighted with the way the last year has gone, and very proud to be part of the highly committed 42,000-strong team in eleven countries that have made it possible. We have continued to see good like-for-like growth with a very strong performance in our mobile phone business in the UK. I am also pleased that growth has been seen in pretty much all of our businesses across the Group. As a result we are confident in narrowing our profit range upwards, with PBT now expected to be between £445m and £450m for the year, an increase of approximately 17% over last year.

There has been much commentary about the state of mind of UK consumers. Our view is that consumers are ready to spend but have - rightly - become more canny, and so need to be tempted with great deals and exciting new products. We see this as encouraging; after all, launching new technology well, creating fun events and coming up with great deals for customers in both the digital and physical worlds is our stock-in-trade.

We continue to make good progress in building out our new CWS and Knowhow businesses. We are, if anything, even more excited about the potential for these comparatively new areas of our Group and have had some real and tangible wins as well as a strong pipeline and plans for the coming months and years. I look forward to sharing more detail about these and the other very real achievements of the last year across the Group as well as our plans for the year ahead when we announce our full year results on June 29th."

UK & Ireland

The UK & Ireland has had an excellent year with full year like-for-like revenues up 6% driven by mobile phone market share gain together with good growth in electricals. Total revenues grew by 2%[3]. Q4 like-for-like revenues grew 4% against a particularly strong sales number in the comparative period. There are now 273 Carphone Warehouse stores-within-a-store open within our 3-in-1 formats and these continue to perform well. Our pricing versus the market is at its most competitive ever, customer satisfaction scores are at all-time highs and we continue to gain share in both mobile and electricals. The acquisition of Simplifydigital, the UK's largest - and fastest growing - multi-channel switching platform, leaves the business well-positioned to benefit from growth in the multi-play market.

Nordics

The Nordics delivered full year like-for-like revenues up 4% whilst continuing to drive price competitiveness and delivering new high levels of customer satisfaction. Q4 like-for-like revenues grew 9%. The Warehousing project at Jönköping is progressing well and we have successfully integrated the Infocare business, which gives us a base upon which to build our services proposition in the Nordics.

Southern Europe

Southern Europe has had a good year against a very turbulent backdrop, delivering full year like-for-like revenues up 4%. Q4 like-for-like revenues were flat despite a government laptop promotion in Greece in the prior year.

Investor and analyst webcast

There will be a conference call for investors and analysts at 8:00 am BST (9:00am CET) this morning.

Dial-in details - UK/International: [phone]; passcode: 6482822

Seven-day replay - UK/International: [phone]; passcode: 6482822

Next announcement

The Group will publish its full year results on Wednesday 29 June 2016.

For further information

Kate Ferry	IR, PR & Corporate Affairs Director	[phone]
Mark Reynolds	Head of Investor Relations	[phone]
Hannah Collyer	Head of Media Relations	[phone]
Nick Cosgrove, Helen Smith	Brunswick Group	[phone]
Information on Dixons Carphone plc is available at www.dixonscarphone.com Follow us on Twitter: @dixonscarphone and @DCSebJ
About Dixons Carphone Dixons Carphone plc is Europe's leading specialist electrical and telecommunications retailer and services company, employing over 42,000 people in eleven countries. Focused on helping customers navigate the connected world, Dixons Carphone offers a comprehensive range of electrical and mobile products, connectivity and expert after-sales services from the Geek Squad and Knowhow. Dixons Carphone's primary brands include Carphone Warehouse and CurrysPCWorld in the UK & Ireland, Elkjøp, Elkjøp Phonehouse, Elgiganten, Elgiganten Phonehouse, Gigantti and Lefdal in the Nordic countries, Kotsovolos in Greece, Dixons Travel in a number of UK & Ireland airports and Phone House in Spain. Our key service brands include Knowhow in the UK, Ireland and the Nordics, and Geek Squad in the UK, Ireland and Spain. Business-to-business (B2B) services are provided through Connected World Services, PC World Business and Carphone Warehouse Business. Connected World Services aims to leverage the Group's existing expertise, operating processes and technology to provide a range of services to businesses. Dixons Carphone was voted 'Retailer of the Year' at the Retail Week Awards 2016.

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any expected future events or results referred to in these forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, regulations or accounting standards, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Information contained on the Dixons Carphone plc website or the Twitter feed does not form part of this announcement and should not be relied on as such.

 

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[1] Previous guidance of £440m to £450m issued 26 January 2016

[2] Like-for-like revenues are calculated based on Headline store and internet sales using constant exchange rates. New stores are included where they have been open for a full financial year both at the beginning and end of the financial period. Revenues from franchise stores are excluded and closed stores are excluded for any period of closure during either period. Customer support agreement, insurance and wholesale revenues along with revenue from Connected World Services and other non-retail businesses are excluded from like-for-like calculations. Revenues from Carphone Warehouse stores-within-a-store are included in like-for-like

[3] Total revenues on a constant currency and period basis

 

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