PCWorld and Currys owner goes into the red
June 26, 2008
The owner of PCWorld and Currys, DSG International announced that pre-tax profits were down a dramatic 30% last year and say they are “cautious about consumer confidence”.
Pre-tax profits for the 53 weeks to 3 May 2008 were 3205.3 million, which is down from £295.1 million the previous year. After one-off costs have been counted, the group lost £192.68 million, down from a profit of £114.1 million the year before.
The group said in a statement to the market: “The economic background continues to be difficult and the group remains very cautious about consumer confidence in many of the markets in which it operates. In this environment, the groups’ clear priorities are focused on reducing cash further and managing cash flow while continuing to improve customer focus.”
The retailer also said it had reached £1 billion in online sales, which in total accounted for 12% of the group sales. They also said that like for like sales were up 1%.
Shares in DSG have dropped around three quarters in value over the past year.
The firm has issued two previous profit warning and has now said they think underlying profits of between £200 million and £210 million. This prompted new chief executive John Browett to lay out a recovery plan which included halving the final dividend, cutting costs and investing in their customer service and their internet service.
Mr Browett, who formerly worked with Tesco, also said he was working “very hard” to turn things round for the group. He said 2The group is operating in a challenging environment. We have lots of opportunities to improve performance and build on the group’s many inherent strengths as a leading specialist electrical retailer.”
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