Electrical goods retailer Kesa posted a 1.7% rise in underlying Christmas sales on Thursday, as demand for laptops and flat-screen televisions was offset by weak sales of fridges and washing machines.
The group, which runs French market leader Darty and British number two Comet, said trading conditions were tough, particularly in Britain, and that a small negative effect on profit margins reported at the time of its third-quarter results had continued over the period from November 1 to January 8.
Three analysts polled by Reuters had expected Kesa to report an rise in like-for-like sales of between 2 and 2.5%.
Britain’s retailers are struggling as debt-laden shoppers cut back on spending following several interest rate increases and amid higher energy bills and a cooler housing market.
Kesa shares have fallen a quarter in value since the start of the year, and were hit hard on January 3 when larger rival DSG International issued a profit warning, saying its like-for-like sales fell 1% in the 11 weeks to December 29.
Kesa said like-for-like sales at Darty rose 2.2% in the period from November 1 to January 8, with Comet sales up 0.7% on the same basis.
Like-for-like sales at its French furniture and electricals chain BUT, however, were down 1.7%.
Kesa said on December 28 it was in in talks to sell BUT for around €550m to a consortium comprising real estate fund Colony Capital, U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs and Merchant Equity Partners (MEP), an investment boutique which specialises in buying retailers.