World Cup effect boosts Comet

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

ELECTRICALS group Kesa remained cautious today, even though the 'World Cup effect' lifted total sales at its Comet electricals chain by more than 10%.

Kesa said it continued to worry about the state of consumer confidence, while it feared the football tournament may have brought forward television sales that would have happened in the second half of the year.

In the period between February 1 and Tuesday, Kesa said demand for flat screen televisions boosted sales on a like-for-like basis by 8.6% at Comet. That compared with an improvement of 2.8% in the three months up to April.

It added the UK division was expected to deliver a 'small' first-half profit, as the strong TV sales were offset by weak demand for goods such as fridges and freezers.

Across the group, which also includes the Darty and BUT chains in France, sales were up 11.3% with the figure 7.6% higher on a like-for-like basis.

Chief executive Jean-Noel Labroue said: 'The World Cup effect will have brought forward some television sales and with the ongoing uncertainties in consumer confidence, we remain cautious about the outlook for our important second half. We will therefore continue to be tightly focused on cost control and margin and cash management.'

At Darty, which operates from 206 stores, like-for-like sales were ahead by 8.8%. The figure was 2.9% lower at BUT, although Kesa pointed out there had been an improved second quarter performance.

In March, Kesa said pre-tax profits dropped to £143.3m during the year to January 31, from £177.9m in the year before. It blamed stiff competition and a drop off in demand for white goods, such as fridges.

Kesa is the third largest electricals retailer in Europe, with 28,000 staff in nine countries. Comet is the second largest in the UK, with 250 stores and more than 10,000 employees.

Most watched Money videos