(Reuters) – French retailer Fnac Darty slightly raised its full-year guidance on Thursday with revenue growth now seen to be above 5%.
The seller of books, music and electrical equipment, which previously expected growth to be about 5%, said it expects 2021 current operating income to be in the upper end of the previous guidance of a range of 260 million-270 million euros ($302 million-314 million).
Retailers have seen their in-store sales rebound in recent months as shoppers returned after months of pandemic-related closures, while online sales continued to grow.
Fnac Darty’s total group sales for nine months were up 12.7% compared to the same period last year, with online sales accounting for 26% of revenue in the period.
While global retail markets face supply chain disruptions ahead of peak shopping season, Fnac Darty’s CFO Jean-Brieuc Le Tinier said on a call with reporters that the group was not experiencing any problems at the moment.
He said that despite a certain pressure on telephony and IT products the company was less affected thanks to its market share of high-end products, which offer higher margins and are less prone to get hit from raw material prices and inflation.
Fnac Darty sales for the third quarter came in at 1.85 billon euros, down 0.5% year-on-year.
($1 = 0.8591 euros)
(Reporting by Dagmarah Mackos and Kate Entringer;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
