Q1 2013-14 Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 9921J

Carphone Warehouse Group PLC

24 July 2013

 



Wednesday 24 July 2013

Embargoed until 7am

                                                Carphone Warehouse Group plc

Interim Management Statement for the quarter ended 29 June 2013

Strong start to the year

·     CPW Europe Q1 like-for-like sales up 10.6% (up 13.2% excluding France)

·     Total connections up 6.0% (8.1% excluding France), driven by strong UK postpay connections growth

·     Virgin Mobile France revenue decline of 15.1% at constant currency

·     Reiterating financial guidance for the full year

Roger Taylor, CEO, said:

"We have enjoyed a good first quarter with strong like-for-like revenue and connections growth, and we are reiterating the guidance we gave when we presented our final results for 2012-13 in late June.

"Postpay sales in the UK were particularly strong, continuing the momentum of the previous quarter, as our offers and service continue to resonate with the customer.

 "As anticipated, Virgin Mobile France revenue declined year-on-year, reflecting market price deflation, the effects of which reduce later in the year.

"We believe the Group is well positioned following the strategic moves we have made and we are focused on replicating the UK's operational execution across Europe and bringing our Connected World capabilities to other business partners, including our recently announced partnerships with Media Markt / Saturn and Metro Group."

CPW Europe (100% owned)

Completion of the acquisition of Best Buy's 50% share of CPW Europe took place on 26 June 2013. From this date, the business will cease to be accounted for as a joint venture and will instead be fully consolidated within the Group's results.

The first quarter for CPW Europe saw strong like-for-like revenue growth of 10.6%, benefiting in part from the relatively weak first quarter last year. In the UK, like-for-like sales growth was particularly strong with year-on-year growth in the postpay category and a continued shift towards high-end smartphones driving higher revenue per connection. In mainland Europe, we enjoyed encouraging performance in a number of markets, with positive like-for-like revenue outside France. Overall, despite a continued weak prepay market, positive postpay dynamics meant that connections grew by 6.0% year-on-year for the quarter.

Virgin Mobile France (46% share, JV with Virgin Group)

By the end of the quarter Virgin Mobile France had 60% of its customer base on its Full MVNO platform with close to 80% of customers in the valuable postpay category. The French market remains highly competitive, but the business saw a significantly reduced rate of decline in the postpay base (down 15,000 customers versus down 52,000 in the previous quarter), making encouraging progress during the course of the quarter.  Revenue declined by 15.1%, reflecting market price deflation and a lower customer base. The impact of repricing undertaken during the course of last year will reduce the year-on-year effect of this deflation as the year progresses, and performance at this stage is therefore in line with expectations.

Management

Following the AGM later today, as previously announced, Roger Taylor will become deputy chairman and Andrew Harrison will become CEO of Carphone Warehouse Group plc.

Outlook

Looking ahead, our continued investment in the proposition and market share gains, the benefits of the strategic moves we have made and our focus on replicating the UK's operational execution across Europe and bringing our Connected World capabilities to other business partners, means we are confident in the Group's position and our ability to deliver the guidance we have recently given. 

 

Conference call

There will be a conference call for investors and analysts at 9.00 am this morning. The call will also be broadcast on our website, www.cpwplc.com.

Dial-in details

Passcode 5730197

UK/International: [phone]

USA: [phone]

A replay will be available until midnight, 31 July 2013.

Passcode: 5730197

UK/International: [phone]

USA: [phone]

Next announcement

The Group will publish its Q2 trading and interim results on 14 November 2013.

For further information

For analyst and institutional enquiries                 

Kate Ferry, IR Director                                               07748 933 206

Kerry Becker, IR Manager                                          07748 910 861

For media enquiries

Kerry Becker                                                               07748 910 861 

Anthony Carlisle (Citigate Dewe Rogerson)               07973 611 888

                                                                                                   020 7638 9571

Further operating and financial information

CPW Europe (100% basis)
			13 weeks to 29 June 2013
			2013	2012	% change
Revenue
		Total (£m)	816	776	5.2%
		LFL (constant currency)			10.6%
Connections			13 weeks to 29 June 2013
			2013	2012	% change
	Connections (000s)		2,110	1,991	6.0%
			At 29 June 2013
			2013	2012	% change
Store numbers
		Own stores	2,006	2,044	(1.9%)
		Franchises	339	336	0.9%
		Total stores	2,345	2,380	(1.5%)
Virgin Mobile France (100% basis)
			3 months to 30 June 2013
Revenue*			2013	2012	% change
	Revenue (€m)		104	122	(15.1%)
* Revenue excludes contributions towards subscriber acquisition costs from network operators and customers, to simplify presentation.
			At 30 June 2013
			2013	2012	% change
Customer base (000s)
	Postpay		1,333	1,394	(4.4%)
	Prepay		379	531	(28.7%)
	Total		1,712	1,925	(11.1%)

 

END

 

 

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