20th Jan 2005 07:00
Kesa Electricals plc20 January 2005 20 January 2005 Trading Update Kesa Electricals plc today announces a trading update for the period 1 November2004 to 8 January 2005, based on unaudited management accounts. Turnover growth as reported in sterling* Darty 9.2%Comet 3.8%BUT (0.1)%Other 15.8%Group Total 6.2% *£/• exchange rates of 1.43 (2004/05) and 1.43 (2003/04) Turnover growth in local currency Total Like-for-likeDarty 9.2% 7.2%Comet 3.8% 2.1%BUT (0.2)% (2.9)%Other 15.7% 6.2%Group Total 6.1% 3.9% Total Group retail sales grew by 6.2 per cent, 6.1 per cent in local currency,compared to the same period last year as all our electrical businessesexperienced particularly strong growth in sales of multimedia and digitalproducts. Darty delivered a strong sales performance, particularly in December, led by anacceleration in sales of flat screen TVs, MP3s and laptops relative to thetraditional analogue products and white goods, which caused a small negativeimpact on the product gross margin. Comet's sales continued to weaken up to Christmas but then significantlyimproved, again led by sales of multimedia and digital products. Comet managedto hold or improve product margin in all its key categories, limiting thedownside of the mix margin effect. BUT's furniture sales have remained satisfactory however it has not benefitedfrom the sales growth in new technologies to the same extent as our electricalbusinesses. Store sales towards the end of the period have suffered from thedelay of the official French Sale season to 12th January 2005 and consequentlyBUT's total store sales for the period were down by 0.4 per cent, down 2.9 percent on a like-for-like basis. Early indications are that the Sale is goingwell. Our other businesses, Vanden Borre, BCC and Datart, further confirmed theirimproving performances with an overall like-for-like sales growth of 6.2 percent. Chief Executive Jean-Noel Labroue commented, "We are satisfied with the performances of our electrical businesses which allbenefited from the growth in sales of multimedia and digital products. Wecontinue to manage the impact of the resultant mix effect through our on-goingmargin management and cost control and we anticipate that overall the Group willdeliver results for the full year in line with current market expectations." ENDS As previously stated, Kesa Electricals plc's preliminary results for the yearended 31 January 2005 will be announced on 23 March 2005. Enquiries Analysts Kesa Electricals plcSimon Ward +44 (0) 20 7269 1400 Media Kesa Electricals plcAnnabel Donaldson UK +44 (0) 20 7269 1400Guy Lavaud France +33 (0) 1 43 18 5200 FinsburyAlex Shorland-Ball UK +44 (0) 20 7251 3801 Euro RSCGLaurent Dondey France +33 (0) 1 58 47 95 17 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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