Join our community of smart investors

Darty warns on profits

Eurozone-focused electricals retailer Darty has revealed tough trading and warned on profits
February 15, 2013

Shares in Darty (DRTY) – France’s biggest electricals goods retailer – slumped 7 per cent after it announced tough trading and warned on profits

IC TIP: Sell at 46.5p

Since 1 November, sales in France fell 2.9 per cent and by 8.4 per cent in the group's developing operations (Turkey and Spain). Darty’s like-for-likes sales fell 0.5 per cent overall during that period. Prospects don’t look great, either. "Sales trends have softened and we are seeing increased promotional activity in a number of markets," management say. If that continues, reckons Darty, then adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to end-April is unlikely to match the lower end of the City's expectations. Analysts at JP Morgan Cazenove think that could signal a flat dividend for 2013.