DSG, the Currys and PC World retailer, has sparked into life after a positive update from analysts at UBS.
The bank's Andrew Hughes believes that the group's performance in the Nordic countries may well outweigh any weakness in the UK. As a result he has raised his profit forecasts for 2010 from £50m to £54m, and his share price target from 35p to 37p. He said:
We update our full year numbers to reflect our expectation that Nordic sales will remain strong, potentially showing double digit like for like in the second quarter. There is a partial offset from lower UK like for like (full year -10%
from -7.5%). This builds a greater comfort factor into the forecast, especially as UK comparisons do not improve until the second half.
Christmas [could] be more promotional, especially given the VAT change. [This] could pull sales forward from the fourth quarter.
The market seems to be buying the argument. DSG shares are up 1.06p to 33.66p, making it one of the top performers in the mid-cap index.
Overall the FTSE 250 has slipped 61.24 points to 9141.31, while the FTSE 100 - helped by a firm opening on Wall Street - is up 13.76 points at 5248.94.
Pushing the leading index higher following their figures are HSBC, 29.2p higher at 721.4p, and Imperial Tobacco, 50p better at £18.78.
On the other hand, Barclays and Vodafone are still proving a drag on the market. Barclays is down 15.25p at 327.6p while Vodafone is off 2.9p at 135.05p.
