Dixons Carphone shares plunge 30% as Brexit hits phone retailers
Dixons Carphone has warned of a steep decrease in profits this year, as customers now put off upgrading their current mobile devices and instead opt for cheaper, SIM-only plans.
The news prompted share prices to drop by 30% to £1.61 - which means that it has decreased by half in total in this year alone.
A weaker pound, caused by the vote to leave the European Union back in 2016, has caused the price of mobile devices to rise; customers, as a result, have been put off buying the latest handheld and are instead choosing to stick with their current device for an extra four to six months.
Dixons - who own Carphone Warhouse, Currys and PC World - has said it now expects profits to drop from around £501mn ($642mn) to between £360mn-£440mn, signalling a drop in the predicted profits of £55mn.
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Chief executive Seb James commented: "Currency fluctuations have meant that handsets have become more expensive whilst technical innovation has been more incremental."
The EU's move to abolish data roaming charges will also come at a price to Dixons, who estimate that the ruling will cost them around £40mn after it came into effect in June 2017.
However, there is hope as the iPhone 8 is expected to eclipse sales of the most recent incarnation of the popular Apple mobile, the iPhone 7.
"We're anticipating that iPhone 8 launch will be much better, maybe not as good as the iPhone 6, but more like the same numbers as the iPhone 6S, as opposed to the disappointing sales of the iPhone 7."
"This is just simply because we believe the iPhone 8 to be a much better phone than the current version."
