Dixons Carphone has reported no evidence of a knock to consumer confidence after the UK vote to leave the EU, echoing industry surveys pointing to a robust mood among shoppers.
The electrical retailer, formed from a merger of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse in 2014, said revenue in the three months to the end of July was up 9% compared with the same period last year.
Sebastian James, the chief executive, said it was another very good quarter for Dixons Carphone. “We are delivering pleasing growth in all markets and continued high levels of customer satisfaction, and thus far, continue to see no detectable impact of the Brexit vote on consumer behaviour in the UK,” he said.
It is the latest evidence that UK consumers have weathered the economic and political uncertainty created by the Brexit vote.
Retail sales have risen, consumer confidence has rebounded after an initial blip, and Britain’s biggest housebuilders have reported business as usual, saying there is little sign of a lasting post-referendum slump.
In the trading update for its first quarter, Dixons Carphone reported a 4% increase in UK and Ireland revenues on a like-for-like basis – stripping out sales in shops open for less than a year. The company runs 455 stores in the UK.
Its business in southern Europe notched up the biggest rise in like-for-like revenue, up 13%. Dixons Carphone said the increase was driven by strong growth in Greece.
George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the retailer stood to benefit from product launches such as the new iPhone.
“The group will be rubbing its hands together after Wednesday’s launch of the iPhone 7, and the introduction of wireless headphones opens up a whole new market.
“Dixons Carphone’s robust revenue growth is impressive, all the more so given macroeconomic headwinds in its core UK, Nordic and southern European markets. The group’s market share is increasing across the board, and a potentially lucrative expansion into the US market is just kicking off.”
The retailer announced in January that it would close 134 shops this year as it merged its remaining Currys and PC World shops and added a Carphone Warehouse department to each of the combined stores.
Dixons Carphone said no employees would lose their jobs and staff would be offered positions at a merged store near their current workplace.