England’s victory over Germany at Euro 2020 boosts Dixons Carphone

Giant flat-screen televisions are ‘flying off the shelves’ thanks to England’s Euros winning streak, the chief executive of Dixons Carphone said yesterday. 

Sales of televisions spanning 55 inches or more were ‘significantly up’ as fans rushed out to upgrade their viewing set-up in time for Saturday’s quarter-final match against Ukraine.

The Euro 2020 boost came as the FTSE 250 retailer reported a 34 per cent jump in profits in the year to May, with bosses hailing the rising importance of technology in people’s lives. 

Tuning in: Boris Johnson watches England beat Germany during a special screening at No10

Boss Alex Baldock said: ‘People now have their eyes open to what technology can do to keep them connected, home school the kids and keep the family fed, clean and entertained.

‘Half of all office staff expect to be hybrid workers, while a bigger slice of entertainment dollar is being spent at home.’ 

The working-from-home trend saw sales in its UK electricals busi-ness boosted by 14 per cent to £4.9billion, helped by a doubling of sales online to £3.4billion. 

Sales in its international division jumped 15 per cent. That more than offset a 55 per cent fall in revenues in the UK mobile phones division caused by store closures and lockdowns. 

Overall group revenue rose by 2 per cent to £10.3billion, helping it post a profit of £156million, up from £116million last year. 

Dixons also restarted the dividend, paying 3p per share. Its shares jumped by 5.9 per cent, or 7.3p, to 130.2p