Tough times
DSGi, the owner of PC World and Currys in the UK, has announced an underlying pre-tax loss of £29.8 million for the half year on more or less static sales.
CEO John Browett, said: "We are focused first on trading through the current tough economic environment in which we are prioritising cash generation as well as tightly managing stock, money margins and costs.
"Second, we are making rapid progress on our Renewal and Transformation plans and although early days the performance of the new format stores and improved service model gives us confidence for the future."
Total UK and Ireland sales were down 7 percent year-on-year to £1,834.1 million, with an underlying operating loss of £10.6 million compared to a £28.9 million profit a year ago.
Sales at the UK computing division were down ten percent to £696.0 million. Underlying operating profit was down 21 percent to £11.7 million.
The main culprit appears to have been the UK and Ireland electrical division, however, where sales were down 5% at £1,138.1 million, with an underlying operating loss of £22.3 million compared to a profit of 14.1 million this time last year.
The only explanation DSGi gave was: "Currys and Currys.digital were impacted by lower levels of footfall as the consumer environment weakened during the period."
