Dixons Carphone raises annual profit guidance after strong Christmas trading period

As Dixons Carphone updates the market, Ian Forrest, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, explains what it means for investors.

“Dixons Carphone reported a 7% rise in like-for-like sales over the Christmas period, with the UK and Ireland continuing to see good growth of 8%. However, southern Europe once again struggled with a decline of 4%. The company said that despite the scale of Black Friday impacting the weeks that followed, it gained market share across electrical goods and mobile phones. As a result, the full-year profit guidance range was raised to £355m-£375m.

“These trading figures show the company has maintained its strong sales momentum during its busiest trading period and the stability of its profit margin is also good news for investors. The ability to adapt is vital in retailing and Dixons Carphone is demonstrating this as more of its customers are moving to ‘click-and-collect’, online ordering and home delivery.

“Due to its good sales, further potential benefits of the merger and the encouraging prospect of a boost for consumers from the falling oil price, we recommend Dixons Carphone as a ‘buy’ for medium risk investors seeking both growth and income.”