Booming sales in tablets and smart phones helped mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse produce a solid set of Christmas results; like-for-like sales in the UK were up 16%, with overall European revenue hitting 7.8%.
Roger Taylor, chief executive of the Carphone Warehouse, said in a statement: "We substantially grew market share in both prepay and postpay, and gained authority in tablets. This reflects extremely well on our team and on our policy of investing in our proposition to give our customers compelling offers on smartphones and tablets, accepting some margin investment."
He added that conditions on mainland Europe were still challenging, with trading being particularly tough in France.
Smartphones, tablets and after sales services were the prime growth drivers, according to Carphone Warehouse's results.
Nick Hood, business analyst at Company Watch, told the Huffington Post UK claimed the encouraging sales growth could only be driven by cut price deals, impacting on its profitability.
"The UK (market) has been the saviour, with strong smartphone and tablet demand negating a horror story in France and stagnation at best elsewhere across the Channel. But the commercial reality has been that the encouraging sales growth could only be driven by discounting, making Carphone Warehouse yet another retailer making cautious noises about profitability," he said.
"Fortunately, the company has a strong balance sheet to help shepherd it through these hard economic times to the eventual recovery, whenever it may finally start."
In related news, Apple has announced its highest-ever quarterly profit and revenue results, $54.5 billion in revenue for the first quarter of the 2013 financial year.