Strong demand for flat screen televisions and satellite navigation systems drove profits higher at Kesa Electricals, owner of the Comet retail chain.
Pre-tax profits at the group jumped 15.4% to £165.4m in the year ending January 31.
Profits from Comet, which is partway through a store refurbishment programme, were up 20%.
The group said there was also strong demand for multimedia products, particularly laptops, and sales of white goods increased ahead of the growth in the market.
Four Comet stores where a mezzanine floor has been added to provide extra floor space saw profits rise by an average of 50%. Kesa plans to offer mezzanine floors at another 30 stores by 2010.
Kesa also operates the Darty retail chain in France, where profits rose 3.9% to £114.2m.
Jean-Noel Labroue, chief executive, acknowledged that Kesa had enjoyed positive market conditions last year, when many consumers upgraded their televisions and bought digital music players and “sat nav” devices. He warned that this year could be tougher for the group.
“For 2007 we expect the same sales trends to continue, but not at the same rate as last year. We will continue to focus on cost control and productivity to offset the negative mix effect on margin,” said Mr Labroue.
Overall revenue at Kesa rose 9.8% to £4.5bn throughout the year. Darty brought in revenues of £1.77bn, compared to Comet’s £1.68bn.
The company said it is raising its dividend total by 9.9% to 13.3p a share.
Shares in Kesa were down 1.5p to 348.75p.
Graeme Wearden
Wednesday March 21, 2007
Guardian Unlimited