CPW.L Share News (CPW)

Currys and PC World owner Dixons Retail, which is to merge with Carphone Warehouse, said it experienced 'another excellent year' as it updated the market on strong trading in the fourth quarter.The company said it saw a "strong outturn" across the group with full-year underlying sales up 3% and like-for-like (LFL) sales up 3%.Dixons said that underlying profit before tax for the full year to April 30th is now expected to at the top end of market expectations of £150-160m.Trading was said to have been "robust" in the fourth quarter, though LFL sales were down 1% and reported sales were 4% lower owing to the recent strength in sterling."This year we set out to achieve strong profit growth in our core business, and to tidy up the group so that we are focused on those markets where we are winners," said Chief Executive Sebastian James.During the year, the company disposed of PIXmania and UniEuro in Italy and Electroworld in Turkey.In a separate announcement, Dixons and Carphone Warehouse announced a "merger of equals" to create a "world-class British retailer for the new digital age", offering consumer electricals, mobiles, connectivity and related services.The new entity, called Dixons Carphone plc, has been valued at around £3.8bn.BC