Dixon Carphone shares (LON: DC) rose over 9% in early trading on Thursday as the group revealed strong sales and increased online demand.
In the 17 weeks to the end of August, the group reported a 12% rise in electrical sales across Ireland and the UK, as well as a 16% like-for-like rise in international revenue.
Whilst in-store sales plunged 90% over the course of the pandemic and led to the group revealing plans to shut all standalone Carphone Warehouse stores, online sales in Greece and the Nordics surged by 115% and 49% respectively.
Following its strong performance in the Nordics, Dixon Carphone has said it is considering a stock market listing for its Nordics business.
Alex Baldock, the chief executive, said that the decision would “shine a light on the value of the Nordics business whilst retaining it as part of the group”.
“We’ve started the year well, but nobody knows what the future holds and, like many, we remain cautious in our outlook,” Baldock added.
The mobile market remains tough, despite the rise in online sales.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, praised the group Shoplive platform, which allowed customers to book online appointments from home.
“That helped online sales triple while stores were closed, and it’s very encouraging to see that since Dixons Carphone flung open the doors once again, online sales tills have continued to ring at double the rate they did last year,” she said.
Dixons Carphone shares (LON: DC) are trading +7.08% at 87.70 (0914GMT).