Dixons Carphone trumpets solid first year as merged entity

Almost a year since its merger Dixons Carphone announced a 9% growth in like-for-like sales and raised its expectation for profit over the year 2014-15.

The like-for-like sales growth, which was strongest in the company's UK and Ireland division, was a lot better than analysts' forecast of 4% and caused the company to say it expects full year profit to be slightly higher than its previously expected range of £355m ($541.7m, €487.6m) - £375m.

The merger was announced in May 2014 and the deal was completed the following August 2014, allowing the likes of Currys and PC World to combine.

Dixons Carphone chief executive Sebastian James was the CEO of Dixons before the companies joined forces.

He said: "On the integration, our teams should be very proud of the progress that we have made.

"A very committed group of people has achieved this; it has required not just hard work, but also pragmatism - and a willingness to roll up sleeves and get stuck in.

"This is a genuine merger of equals founded on core strategic principles rather than straight cost cuts," Sebastian James said in a presentation on the deal back in May 2014.

"We do things that are so adjacent that it makes sense to come together. Our markets are converging, and we are converging."

The combined entity will have reaped some reward from the demise of high street stalwart Phones 4u, which operated 160 concessions through Currys and PC World.