Game saved by late sales surge

Competition among games retailers has been fierce

The High Street electronic games retailer Game Group has reported a lift in sales over the Christmas period thanks to a last minute shopping rush.

Last month the company, formerly called Electronics Boutique, issued a profit warning after it said sales in the run-up to Christmas were 4.7% below the previous year's levels.

But Game said in the five weeks to 4 January underlying sales were up 3.8% reflecting "strong late Christmas trading".

It forecast that full-year profits for the group would now be slightly ahead of the previous year.

'Robust performance'

The firm added that its underlying sales in the UK over the past 11 months had risen by 12.2%, which was better than the industry average.

"We have produced positive sales growth in a challenging retail environment which represented a robust performance as we consolidated our position as the leading retailer of video games," said Game chairman Peter Lewis.

Game shares closed up 4 pence at 42.5p on the London stock market.

Shares in the company had more than halved in December after it issued the profit warning.

Apart from sluggish sales, analysts had been worried that aggressive price cuts on some top games would hit profits.