The tough retail conditions on Britain's high streets means difficult times lie ahead for Dixons Carphone, with significant losses in its UK and Ireland business, but experts have said the business is on track for a turnaround.
The phone and electronics retailer said it expects to lose £90 million in the UK and Ireland this year, in line with previous guidance.
The results showed that, whereas pre-tax losses were slashed from £440 million to £86 million, when stripping out the effects of new reporting standards, profit more than halved, to £24 million from £60 million.
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Revenue dipped 4% to £4.7 billion. On a like-for-like basis it was down 1%.
Analysts and investors reacted well to what on the face of it could have been poor results.
Shares were trading up 1.4% at 133.8p shortly after markets opened on Thursday.
John Moore, senior investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, said: "While it might be tempting to see Dixons Carphone's loss as the headline-grabber from these results, it doesn't tell the full story."
The founder of Superdry has said he will stay with the business until at least April 2021 as he works through his turnaround plans following a boardroom coup earlier this year.
Julian Dunkerton made the claim as the retailer saw an 11% fall in sales to £369.1 million and swung to a pre-tax loss of £4.2 million for the six months to October 26, as he attempts to re-position the business with more fashion-led products and less discounting.
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He said: "With the board's backing, I have committed myself to the CEO role on a permanent basis until April 2021."
He also said: "At this halfway point in our financial year, I am pleased with the progress we have made to comprehensively reset Superdry.
"We're doing this through our product and brand, our physical and digital retail operations and a renewed focus on the retailing basics. We are only eight months into a process that will take two to three years, but I have great confidence in the strength of our new executive leadership team."
Mr Dunkerton, who staged a boardroom coup to retake control of the business after clashing with previous executives, also admitted that the retail environment remains "very challenging" but was pleased with the results, which were in line with expectations.
The long-serving boss of PZ Cussons will step down next year, the company said, as it warned revenue and profit has declined in the face of a tough market.
Alex Kanellis, who has been in the role since 2006, will retire at the end of January. It comes after a six-month period where the Imperial Leather and Carex company sold its Greek and Polish businesses.
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In a trading update, management said the second half of the year is expected to be better than the challenging first half, with full results for the last six months due at the end of January, when Mr Kanellis steps down.
This is dependent on "no further worsening of the economic and trading environments across our key geographies", the company said.
It added: "Full-year revenue and adjusted profit before tax is expected to be modestly below the prior year on a like-for-like basis."
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