INVESTORS in Dixons Carphone have been handed a Christmas boost after the electrical and mobile giant served up a "barnstorming" maiden first half performance in the UK and Ireland.
The company was the fourth biggest riser in the FTSE 100 after turning out a better than expected 30 per cent hike in pre-tax profits of £78 million.
It was the first set of interim results posted by the group since Dixons and Carphone Warehouse merged in a £3.7 billion deal in August.
Chief executive Sebastian James said the group, which has 1440 staff across 96 Currys PC World and Carphone Warehouse stores in Scotland, was "comfortable" with market expectations for the full year after an "extraordinary" Black Friday.
In spite of some negative publicity, he said the event imported from the US had been a big success for the group.
Steps taken to ensure it had enough stock meant it had not experienced the same problems as other retailers, he added, noting that he expects it to remain a fixture on the UK retail calendar.
And while some analysts are concerned the Black Friday discounts will stop retailers achieving sales of products at full prices in the run-up to Christmas, Dixons Carphone has been able to protect margins by placing large orders with suppliers.
However, although the retailer is heading towards Christmas in good shape, Mr James insisted there was "no room for complacency".
He said: "All in all... this has been a very good half year but there is a lot more of the year to go and a crucial Christmas to come, against a backdrop of big changes in how and when customers do their Christmas shopping.
"Ahead of this all-important peak period we remain comfortable with market expectations for the year; at the same time we know that we will need to keep our foot on the gas if we are to achieve our ambitious longer-term goals."
The first half results, which included an extra five weeks of trading from Carphone Warehouse, saw like for like sales rise by five per cent across the group in the 31 weeks ended November 30.
Like for like sales grew even faster in the UK and Ireland, up six per cent in the first half, and 11 per cent in the second quarter, boosted by strong electrical and mobile sales.
However the company noted that limited product innovation had resulted in lower tablet sales.
Along with market share gains in the Nordic countries and Greece, the showing in the UK and Ireland offset "challenging" conditions in Germany and The Netherlands, where a review of its businesses has led to some store closures. The £100m of exceptional charges booked by the group in the first half partly reflected its restructuring activity in those countries.
Dixons Carphone, which changed its financial year end to the Saturday closest to April 30 further to the merger, noted the integration of the merged businesses was proceeding well.
It is expected to deliver a minimum of £80m of savings from 2016-17, a year ahead of schedule, and the company said a number of departments in the UK and Ireland have been fully integrated, with plans having been announced in September for a single UK head office.
It noted that there are now 190 Carphone Warehouse "stores within a store" in Currys and PC World outlets, which continue to perform ahead of expectations. Further stores within stores will be rolled out after the Christmas trading period.
Mr James said: "The integration of the business seems to be going better than I dared hope, and our integrated stores are trading very well which augurs well for the future. There is still much, much more to do, but I have been struck by the willingness of people at all levels and from all parts of the business to roll up their sleeves and get on with it."
Analysts welcomed the results, with Investec raising its target price to 465p and retaining its recommendation to buy. Mike van Dulken at Accendo Markets said the first-half performance had "surprised investors". But, noting the company's observation of changing consumer shopping habits, warned Christmas trading will not be without its challenges. He said: "With a decent online portal the company should be fine, although you wonder whether online competitor discounting is a worry."
The company intends to pay an interim dividend of 2.5p in January. Shares in Dixon Carphone closed up 13p at 439.7p.
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