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The owner of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse has warned of a fall in profits amid ‘challenging conditions’ in the market.
In an unscheduled statement, today Dixons Carphone Group Chief Executive, Seb James, warned that profits would be down on last year as they have seen a ‘more challenging UK postpay mobile phone market in recent months.’
He said that customers were not upgrading their phones as often as handsets become more expensive and that changes in EU roaming legislation, where charges will be scrapped for using mobiles abroad, are likely have a negative impact.
The group now expect profits this year to be between in £360m and £440m, down from £501m last year, as a consequence of these combined factors.
James said: “Currency fluctuations have meant that handsets have become more expensive whilst technical innovation has been more incremental.
“As a consequence, we have seen an increased number of people hold on to their phones for longer and while it is too early to say whether important upcoming handset launches or the natural lifecycle of phones will reverse this trend, we now believe it is prudent to plan on the basis that the overall market demand will not correct itself this year.’
“We do expect overall profit in our core retail operations to be in line with last year supported by good progress in our UK & Ireland, Nordic and Greek electrical businesses,” he added.
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