Sales at DSG Ireland up 28%

Irish sales at Dixons and Currys rose by 28 per cent in the 28 weeks to November, according to their parent DSG International…

Irish sales at Dixons and Currys rose by 28 per cent in the 28 weeks to November, according to their parent DSG International.

In a trading statement today, the group said like-for-like sales at its Irish operations or DSG Ireland were up by 14 per cent.

DSG International - Europe's biggest electricals retailer - beat forecasts for first-half sales but said margins had been hit by a weak performance in Italy, hitting its shares.

"As a result underlying group pretax profits in the first half are expected to be broadly in line with those in the first half of last year," DSG, which operates in 27 countries, said in a statement.

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DSG, whose chains include Currys and PC World in Britain, Elkjop in Nordic countries and Kotsovolos in Southern Europe, said like-for-like sales in the 28 weeks to November 11th rose 5 per cent.

Total sales were up 14 per cent, driven by sales of flat panel, high definition TVs and laptop computers.

"(In Italy) the backdrop of political uncertainty, proposed economic reforms and a subdued economy has reduced consumer confidence and this has created a more price competitive market," DSG said, adding like-for-like sales at UniEuro in Italy fell 10 percent with overall sales down 4 percent.

Italy accounted for just under 10 per cent of DSG sales in its last financial year. Chief Executive John Clare said the company was well prepared for Christmas trading.

"It is too early to extrapolate trends for the year as a whole ... (but) we are well placed to deliver growth over this important time of the year," IPods, MP3 players, digital cameras and satellite navigation equipment will be top of people's Christmas lists, he said.