€8m loss for Currys’ owner

DSG Retail Ireland, the company behind Currys and PC World, made a pre-tax loss of €8 million last year.

Accounts just filed with the Companies Registration Office show that DSG Retail Ireland Ltd’s revenues declined by 10% from €166m to €148m in the year to the end of May last.

The firm’s pre-tax losses last year follow the company recording a pre-tax loss of €9m in 2009.

The drop in revenues is partly explained by the firm closing three stores during the year. The company also opened a new outlet during the period.

The figures show that the numbers employed by the company declined by 100 during the year from 759 to 659 with staff costs declining by 14% from €18.1m to €15.6m.

The losses last year reduced the company’s accumulated profits to €12.3m at year end. Net assets stood at €37.6m at the end of May last that included €8.1m in cash.

The company specialises in the retail sale of high technology consumer electronics, personal computers, domestic appliances, photographic equipment, communications products and related services.

The filings show that the British-owned company’s cost of sales last year reduced from €165m to €144.6m with its distribution costs reducing from €3.8m to €2.3m.

The figures show that the company’s administrative expenses increased during the year from €7.1m to €10m.

The accounts include a depreciation charge of €3.85m. The figures show that the company paid rentals under operating leases reduced to €11.8m — down from €13.9m.

The company cites price deflation as a risk facing the company, stating that “price deflation has been a common feature across most electrical goods categories for a number of years, primarily driven by technological advances and improved efficiencies in production through the life cycle of a product”.

The directors also cite the risk of a prolonged economic downturn severely impacting the business and that mitigation measures include “ongoing monitoring, including review of the store portfolio, renewal and transformation plan to improve the business performance irrespective of macro-economic factors”.