11th Sep 2014 09:02
LONDON (Alliance News) - Darty PLC Thursday posted a rise in first quarter revenue and like-for-like sales as the electrical goods retailer said it got a boost from the World Cup over the summer.
The company said it enjoyed a successful World Cup and summer sales period, with total revenue increasing 5.9% in the three months to July 31 and like-for-like sales rising 1.7% in the period.
The company also said the World Cup proved strong over the summer, with May and June sales in its Vision business increasing, along with further growth in its Communication business. Its White Goods sales were stable after the benefit seen last year from weather-related purchases of refrigeration and air-conditioning products was not repeated.
Multi-media sales were weaker in the period due to volume growth slowing, along with lower average selling prices for tablet devices and a weak digital camera market.
Online sales rose further in the period, Darty said, with MisterGoodDeal.com sales rising 27% and now representing more than 16% of total product sales.
In its French arm, revenue was up 7.1% in the period, with like-for-like sales rising 2%, and revenue in its Belgium and Netherlands arm rose 1.7%, with like-for-like sales up 0.7%.
The group said its overall underlying group margin fell by 60 basis points in the period, which it said was in line with its expectations.
The outperformance in the French business was driven by the opening of a further nine franchise stores over the period, increasing the total in the country to 13, and the roll-out of the MisterGoodDeal.com collection network to Darty stores, the company said.
In addition, the company completed the sale of a majority stake in the Datart Investments business in the period to Czech group SEW 1001 AS for EUR5 million.
"While we are cautious in our view of the markets, our plans for the peak period put us in a good competitive position for the coming months," said Darty Chief Executive Régis Schultz.
Darty shares were down 5.6% to 79.50 pence on Thursday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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