Agenda: Dunelm, Halfords and Dixons Carphone update the market

BRC-KPMG

The latest BRC-KPMG retail sales figures for August are released on Tuesday.

On a total basis, retail sales increased by 0.3% in the month to July 27, against an increase of 1.6% the previous year. Like-for-like sales increased 0.1%, down from a 0.5% uplift the previous year, according to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

Despite returning to positive growth, the 0.3% sales uplift still represented “the lowest figure recorded for the month of July” since the monitor began in 1995 and “comes after the worst June on record”.

More widely, non-food sales slumped by 2% on a like-for-like basis and 2.1% on a total basis, over the three months to July.

Food sales saw a 1% fall in like-for-like sales and 0.3% based on a total basis – the lowest three-month average since December 2014.

The growth of online sales of non-food products also slowed – growing 3.7% in July against 7.5% uplift for the same month in 2018.

Halfords 

Halfords is set to post a trading update on Wednesday.

The cycling and motor accessories specialist said profits slid 24% to £51m in the year to March 29, when revenues inched up 0.3% to £1.14bn.

Halfords’ like for likes rose 1.1% at group level. Retail like for likes advanced 0.8%, while at the Autocentres arm they rose 2.6%.

The retailer said its retail performance “was impacted by extremely mild winter temperatures”, which boosted cycling sales – up 2.6% like for like – but hit its motoring business, which was down 0.4% like for like.

The retailer expects profits next year to be “broadly in line” with the year just reported, but cautioned that the delivery of its strategy “is likely to take longer than we expected as we adapt the plan to the current environment”.

Dunelm

Dunelm posts it preliminary results on Wednesday.

The homewares retailer posted a rise in quarterly sales and is confident full-year profits will come in at the top end of expectations.

Dunelm reported store like for likes up 12.1% in the fourth quarter to June 29, when online sales climbed 37%.

Total sales advanced 11.6% to £264.1m in the period when gross margin rose by approximately 240bps at group level. The core Dunelm business upped margin by 200bps “driven by better sourcing and a lower level of end-of-season clearance compared to the same period last year”.

In the full year, total group margin is expected to have improved by 160bps.

Dixons Carphone

Dixons Carphone posts it first quarter results on Thursday.

The electrical retailer’s pre-tax profits were down 22% from £382m to £298m in the year to April 27, 2019, as UK and Ireland mobile sales shrank 11% to £1.99bn.

The group made a statutory loss after tax of £320m, having made a statutory post-tax profit of £166m the previous year.

The domestic electricals market was healthier than mobiles with sales up 1% to £4.47bn. International sales rose 5% to £3.96bn, driven by the Greek market.

Group chief executive Alex Baldock said it had “taken the first big strides in our transformation” but acknowledged that “we have it in us to be a much more valuable business”.