Dixons switches on strong sales

ELECTRICAL retailer Dixons confounded reports of 'Armageddon' on the High Street with a strong sales performance in its two largest chains, Currys and PC World.

Chief executive John Clare said like-for-like group sales rose by 5% over the 18 weeks to 4 September, although gross margins across the group were 0.4% lower, reflecting a higher level of business-to-business sales and lower credit commissions.

There were 'encouraging signs' of recovery at the Dixons chain and The Link phones business continues to perform well.

'While it is too early to extrapolate these trends for the balance of the year, the group is well placed for a year of progress,' Clare said.

Woolworths reduced first-half losses from £36.4m to £34.4m, and says it is moving towards the vital Christmas season 'with confidence' despite a slowdown in underlying sales growth.

Sales for the six months to 31 July were up 5.9% to £1.11bn, and the interim dividend is raised by 8.3% to 0.39p. Margins improved by 0.6%.

Chief executive Trevor Bish Jones said preparations for Christmas have been advanced by three weeks this year and he expects the big sellers to be Harry Potter and Shrek 2 DVDs.