Carphone Warehouse is expecting pre-tax profits of £53 million to £56 million for its first half, according to a trading update released this morning.

For the 13 weeks to September 29, the retailer opened 60 stores, taking its storecount to 2,337. The group is due to publish its interim results on November 8.

Carphone chief executive Charles Dunstone said: “Our selection as a distributor of the iPhone in the UK is a major endorsement of our retail model and customer proposition and we expect its launch in November to give us a significant competitive advantage.”

Numis analyst Jose Marco said: "The group’s store roll-out programme continues to progress well. We remain very encouraged with the growth prospects of this division. We are expecting the distribution division to generate EBITDA of£312.8 million in 2008, an increase of 19 per cent on last year. Clearly, Carphone Warehouse will greatly benefit from the launch of the iphone in November."

Topics