Dixons Retail tipped to deliver solid update

PC WORLD and Currys owner Dixons Retail is tipped to deliver a solid update next week following a resurgent full-year performance that saw it switch from “survivor to winner”.

The group delivered a 15 per cent hike in underlying profits for the year to 30 April as it benefited from the collapse of competitors such as Comet and an improvement in its own customer service standards.

Its prospects amid the housing market revival will also be in sharp focus as experts predict its sales of white goods will be boosted by a buoyant property sector.

Chief executive Sebastian James said the recent annual results marked an “important milestone in our transition from survivor to winner”.

Numis Securities analyst Matthew Taylor is predicting UK first-quarter like-for-like sales to have risen by at least 5 per cent, although he said “hot weather is rarely helpful for electrical sales”.