Dixons' first-quarter trading update revealed a 7 per cent drop in like-for-like sales, including a huge 10 per cent drop in its UK and Ireland business. But the view from analysts was that, given the strong World Cup and iPad-driven comparative figures from a year earlier, it could have been much worse.
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That explains the 5 per cent jump in the share price on the day, but there was plenty more in the statement to suggest that business could continue to deteriorate throughout the year. In particular, the decision to scale back capital expenditure on its store renewal programme to £100m, the very bottom of the expected range, suggests management are holding back cash to make sure they can meet their debt repayment commitments next year.
