New profit alert from Currys firm

DGS says trading has remained tough in the UK, Italy and Spain

DSG International, the owner of Currys and PC World, has issued its second profit warning of the year after it said trading remained "challenging".

The retailer said profit margins were down in the 25 weeks to 5 April after it cut prices to drive sales.

DSG has cut its estimate for full-year underlying profit to £200m-£210m.

When DSG issued a profits warning in January, it said it expected annual profit to be about £250m, against analysts' forecasts of £300m-£320m.

'Challenging'

The news hit the company's share price, which fell 7.31% to 60.25 pence in early trade.

Like-for-like for sales, which strip out the impact of the new stores, fell 1% in the period.

"The trading environment since we last reported has remained challenging across our markets, particularly in the UK, Italy and Spain," the firm's chief executive, John Browett, said.

The warning comes after disappointing Christmas sales for the retailer.