Dixons Carphone (DC.) reveals big losses at mobile phone shops. Owner of Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse blames 22% profit fall on consumers delaying phone upgrades. Shares in Dixons Carphone, Britain’s biggest electrical and mobile phone retailer, slumped almost 20% as it reported a big fall in profits and warned of “significant” losses in its mobile phone business. Profits for the year to 27 April fell by 22%, to £298m, down from £382m the previous year. The new chief executive, Alex Baldock, who launched a turnaround strategy in December, warned that profits would fall further this year, to about £210m. Analysts had been expecting about £296m.
Investment group Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) has urged investment manager Neil Woodford to look for alternative ways to return billions of pounds to clients trapped in his suspended flagship fund. In an online post addressed to Hargreaves customers, the chief executive, Chris Hill, said he was angry the situation was still unresolved and pledged to ratchet up the pressure on Woodford’s investment house. “We will continue to put pressure on Woodford Investment Management to sell out of their unquoted stocks in the Woodford Equity Income Fund,” Hill said. Those investments are harder to turn into cash to meet customer withdrawals. “We have also urged Woodford to consider alternative ways to release capital so that investors can get access to their money as soon as possible, while balancing the need to get a fair price for assets,” he added. Hargreaves Lansdown refused to comment on what alternative measures could help Woodford return cash to clients. But one industry expert, who asked not to be named, said Woodford may be able to split the fund, separating the harder-to-sell assets from its listed stocks. The fund holding the listed stocks could then open to trading.
