16th Jun 2016 06:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - Darty PLC on Thursday said its pretax profit was pushed lower by one-off costs which offset growth in revenue amid stronger like-for-like sales.
The electricals retailer, currently in the process of being acquired by French peer Groupe Fnac SA, said pretax profit for the financial year to the end of April dipped to EUR28.4 million from EUR32.9 million, primarily due to writedowns related to business disruption costs in the Netherlands following the implementation of a new IT system, plus restructuring activity in France.
Revenue, however, grew to EUR3.66 billion from EUR3.51 billion, driven by 3.9% like-for-like sales growth across the group and 6.1% growth in France. Online sales grew 13% in the year. Darty said it made progress on winning market share in the French and Belgian markets.
Retail profit, which strips out the one-off costs, grew 24% to EUR93.1 million from EUR74.9 million, complemented by property profits made in Darty's French arm.
Darty said it has not recommended a final dividend as it progresses its takeover by Groupe Fnac, which beat out a rival bid from South African retail group Steinhoff International Holdings NV. Steinhoff has now turned its attention to Poundland Group PLC, the discount retailer.
Darty anticipates competition approval for the deal in France will come in early July, with the takeover to complete in August.
"Darty is now in a significantly stronger position than before and can look forward to the future with confidence," said Alan Parker, Darty's chairman.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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