Dixons Carphone, which trades as Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse, has reported strong Christmas sales following increased sales in mobile phones.

In the ten weeks to January 9, sales at stores open over a year rose ahead of analysts’ average forecast by 2%, rising a total of 5%

The firm expected a 2015-16 pretax profit of 440-450 million pounds versus analysts’ previous average forecast of 440 million pounds and the 381 million pounds made in 2014-15.

Shares for Dixons Carphone closed Monday at 467.1 pence, valuing the business at 5.4 billion pounds.

Sebastian James, the chief executive, has said;

“We think it was a good Christmas trading period. We are now also taking the opportunity to put our estate into its long-term shape by rolling out the three-in-one format across the UK and Ireland. Our experience has taught us that the net effect on both sales and colleague levels is likely to be neutral or better.”