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Dixons profits advance
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July 4, 2001: 3:06 a.m. ET
UK's largest eletronics retailer says mobile phones sales offset PC woes
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LONDON (CNN) - The UK's No. 1 electronics retailer Dixons said annual profit rose 5 percent as mobile phone sales offset a fall in personal computers.
Dixons, which also owns PC World, Currys and The Link, said pretax profit before one-time items rose to £277.8 million ($391 million) for the year to April 28, compared with £263.7 million last year, within expectations.
The company sold Internet service provider Freeserve to France Telecom arm Wanadoo for £1.63 billion in shares late last year, and including exceptional items and Freeserve losses, pretax profits rose 37 percent to £647 million from £472.1 the previous year.
Dixons warned, however, that the PC and mobile phone markets would remain volatile in the year ahead.
"We expect continued volatility in our markets, with periods of strong growth in individual market segments being followed by a period of contraction," the company said. "This has already happened in the PC market, and is likely to occur with mobile phones."
Dixons said group turnover rose 20 percent to £4.64 billion from £3.87 billion and sales at stores open more than a year rose 4 percent. Earnings per share rose 6 percent to 10.7 pence compared with 10.1 pence the previous year.
Although the retailer posted increased sales of items such as mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders it reported its gross margin, a key measure for retailers, was 0.9 percentage points lower than last year, reflecting tougher competition.
Dixons said it will continue its European expansion programme, opening more stores in Spain and the UK during the year, as well as its first store in Paris under the PC City banner.
Dixons (DXNS) shares, which tumbled last month to a six-month low of 207.75 pence, closed in London on Tuesday at 232.75 pence. 
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