26th May 2016 08:16
LONDON (Alliance News) - French electrical goods retailer Darty PLC on Thursday reported growth in sales in the fourth quarter of its financial year, as strong growth in France offset far weaker growth in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Darty said total sales in the three months to April 30 grew by 13% on the same period the year before, while like-for-like sales rose by 12%. By region, total sales and like-for-likes in France rose by 16% each, but total sales in Belgium and the Netherlands only rose by 0.3% while like-for-likes declined by 0.9%.
Darty said sales in France were boosted by the television switchover, which helped increase sales in the TV department, while all other major categories also grew positively with the exception of multi-media where the market "remained weak".
Meanwhile, revenue in Belgium suffered from disruption to the warehouse IT system, although Darty said revenue was "on an improving trend", while the Netherlands faced competitive market conditions.
Online sales grew by 14% overall, with 17% growth in France and 5% growth in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Darty is currently considering two takeover offers, one from South African retailer Steinhoff International Holdings NV, and the other from European electrical goods retailer Groupe Fnac SA.
Steinhoff's offer is for 160 pence per share, while Groupe Fnac's stands at 170p, valuing Darty at GBP914 million.
Darty didn't comment further on either offer on Thursday.
Shares in Darty were flat at 168.41p on Thursday morning.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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