Dixons Carphone sees profits soar by 20.6% in first year since merger

Dixons Carphone reported a 20.6% jump in pre-tax profit to £381m in its first full year results since the merger between Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse in August 2014.

The company announced sales edged up by 1.8% to £9.9bn, lifted up by a 7.3% increase in the company's UK and Ireland division.

"This has been a terrific first year for Dixons Carphone," said chief executive Sebastian James. "We have seen excellent increases in both sales and profitability and we have made very encouraging progress with the tricky job of integrating these two great companies."

The company, which also owns Currys PC World, is the result of a £4bn (€5.7bn, $6.3bn) merger and has performed well since the electronics retailers merged.

Dixons Carphone said that the Black Friday madness in November was a big success for its business and UK and Ireland sales increased on the back of promotions and special sales.

The company's southern European division underperformed, especially compared to UK and Ireland as well as Nordic sales, which it attributed to a tough market.

Although still representing a small part of the business, the company's Connected World Service is the fastest growing division, which saw revenue increase by 67%. The company has entered deals with other companies such as mobile network operator Sprint Corporation.

The retailer said that its new concept, the giant tech branches called Samsung Experience Stores, contributed largely to its CWS revenue and success.

James stated: "We have set ourselves ambitious goals, not only financial, but also in terms of driving customer happiness, building a completely integrated company and delivering a brand new global services business with CWS."