Group buoyed by lust for consoles
Game group has exceeded industry expectations, unveiling a stellar hike in sales this Christmas, bouncing back from its November profit warning.

The 26.6 per cent group like-for-like sales increase over the Christmas period was driven by good supply, as well as the launch of coveted consoles such as Sony's PsP and the Xbox 360.

Like-for-like sales during the six weeks to January 7 were up 69.4 per cent across mainland Europe and 27.7 per cent in the UK and Ireland.

The retailer also announced that group year-on-year sales for the 49 weeks to January 7 were up by 2.7 per cent. However, the group anticipates that gross margins for the year as a whole will decrease by about 350 basis points compared with last year, as a result of price deflation.

Numis analyst Steve Davies said: 'Game has performed its now-familiar trick of a profit warning early in the Christmas season, followed by much better trading in December.'

Game said that because of an accelerated store-opening programme in mainland Europe, profits are expected to grow in aggregate for the year.

The board expects group profit before taxation and exceptional items for the year ending January 31 to be between£8 million and£10 million.

Game chairman Peter Lewis said the board was confident of a successful end-of-year financial outcome and hailed the beginning of 'a new technology cycle'.

He added: 'The UK market continues to be very competitive. However, the resilience of our business model has been amply demonstrated. Our industry leadership was reaffirmed with an increase in market share throughout the Christmas period compared with October and November.'