Carphone Warehouse on track

TELECOMS and mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse said today it was trading well and on target with its demerger process.

Carphone, which employs 1,200 people in Warrington, where its business broadband division Opal Telecom is also based, said its fixed-line Talk Talk business added 47,000 new customers to its broadband base and saw average customer spend grow by 5%.

The group has two units, the Best Buy Europe division, a retail and distribution business operated in a venture with American giant Best Buy Co, and the TalkTalk business for broadband and fixed-line services.

In an interim management statement chief executive Charles Dunstone said: “Both our businesses have continued to make good progress, despite the economic climate, and we are able to re-iterate all the financial guidance we have given for the full year. In parallel, work progresses on schedule towards our proposed demerger.”

Carphone plans to split the two business units into two separately listed companies. It is now Britain’s biggest provider of residential broadband after completing a £236m purchase of Tiscali UK on July 3.

Mr Dunstone added: “We remain confident that separating our two businesses will enable the worth and potential of each to be more accurately evaluated.”