Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Hang on... Dixons Carphone shares plunge as customers stick with old handsets
A WAVE of boring mobiles has forced Dixons Carphone to issue a profit warning.
The high street giant says people are sticking with their old handsets for longer because the latest smartphones just aren’t groundbreaking enough.
Another reason is a jump in handset prices caused by the Brexitvote triggered drop in the pound.
It’s meant the average time owners keep their phone before upgrading has gone from 24 months to 29 months this year, Dixons revealed.
Boss Seb James said: “Handsets have become more expensive, while technical innovation has been more incremental”
The drop in upgrades comes as Apple, headed by Tim Cook, is rumoured to be launching the iphone 8 next month. Dixons Carphone also warned a clampdown on roaming charges by the EU would further dent its finances.
As a result, it forecasts annual profits will be between £360million and £440m, compared with City expectations of £460m to £485m – and down on last year’s £501m haul.
Shares in the company tanked
Oil = $51.77 23% after the unscheduled forecast update. Analyst Nicholas Hyett, at brokers Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The forthcoming generation of Samsung Galaxy and iphone handsets claim to make big steps forward, but recent history hasn’t delivered much that’s revolutionary.
“Seb James will be hoping Tim Cook has something big up his sleeve.”
Mirror technology editor Sophie Curtis said: “Now everyone is carrying around virtually identical hunks of metal and glass, with indistinguishable specs and the same set of apps.”