// Dixons Carphone posts statutory pre-tax profits of £45m for the half year, against losses of £86m a year earlier
// Like-for-likes in the UK & Ireland up 16%, while online sales skyrocketed 145%
// Same-store sales increased 16% in the 6 weeks to December 12 despite fresh lockdowns
Booming online sales during the pandemic helped electricals retailer Dixons Carphone swing to a half-year profit as it overcame a hit from store closures during lockdowns.
The Currys PC World parent company posted statutory pre-tax profits of £45 million for the six months to October 31 against losses of £86 million a year earlier.
It notched up a 16 per cent hike in like-for-like UK and Ireland electricals sales, while online sales skyrocketed 145 per cent, which offset the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on its shops.
READ MORE:
- Currys PC World apologises after Black Friday surge crashes site & wipes gift cards
- Lockdown prompts Dixons Carphone’s online sales to surge 124%
- Dixons Carphone to axe 800 jobs as it overhauls store management
The firm, which normally makes most of its profits in the final six months of its financial year, also said current trading was buoyant.
It said same-store sales increased 16 per cent in the six weeks to December 12 despite fresh lockdowns in the UK and Greece.
On an underlying basis, Dixons Carphone’s interim pre-tax profits jumped to £89 million from £2 million a year earlier.
Dixons Carphone said it received £103 million in furlough support for workers and business rates tax relief, but that it had not used the Job Retention Scheme since October.
It has not followed the lead of a raft of retail rivals in paying back the support, but chief executive Alex Baldock insisted the company has “been responsible in our use of government support”.
“We used the furlough scheme to preserve jobs in the first lockdown, and didn’t use the scheme at all in the second,” he said.
“Meanwhile, leaders have taken salary cuts and waived bonuses, and we suspended the dividend.”
However, Baldock said the outlook “remains uncertain”.
“We’re still nowhere near our full potential. Much hard work lies ahead,” he said.
with PA Wires
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
