Tablets cure Dixons' troubles over Christmas

Dixons Retail described trading over Christmas as a "rollercoaster ride", but the electricals group's shares jumped as its results were no worse than the City had expected.

The owner of the Currys and PC World chains said that while trading had been slow in October and November as the eurozone crisis hit consumer confidence, spending recovered during the two weeks before Christmas, with combined sales of tablets and Apple's iPads rocketing by 200 per cent.

John Browett, the chief executive of Dixons Retail, said: "It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride," adding that trading had also been distorted by the VAT rise in early January 2011.

Underlying revenues at Dixons Retail, which has operations in 13 countries, fell by 5 per cent, while they tumbled 7 per cent in the UK and Ireland. Although the group's sales also fell 10 per cent at its southern European operations in Italy, Greece and Turkey, revenues rose by 3 per cent in Northern Europe.

Dixons shares rose by 1.05p, or 11 per cent, to 10.94p.