Dixons Carphone Plunges as Mobile Slowdown Leads to Warning
- Shares drop by about a third, most since company’s formation
- Increased number of Britons waiting longer to upgrade phones
The warning halts what was an unblemished record of profit growth since Dixons Carphone was formed in a merger three years ago.
Photographer: Luke MacGregor/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Dixons Carphone Plc forecast an unexpected drop in earnings this year, sending its shares plunging by as much as 32 percent, as more expensive mobile phones and a lack of hot new products deterred Britons from upgrading their handsets.
Pretax profit will be in a range of 360 million pounds ($460 million) to 440 million pounds in the year through April, the U.K.’s largest electronics retailer said in an unscheduled statement Thursday. The average analyst estimate was 508 million pounds.