Carphone Warehouse reaps broadband rewards

Carphone Warehouse, the mobile phone retailer, attributed its strong results to the success of its broadband business. It reported a £9.6m increase in pre-tax profits for the six month to September 30 compared to a £4.7m loss for the same period last year.

It also reported an 18% increase in revenue to £2.1bn, which it says was driven by growth at its AOL business. It acquired the broadband division last December to boost its existing division, which includes its free broadband service, Talk Talk.

The company had been losing money on some of its broadband products because it had been using BT exchanges but this has changed since the market was liberalised – allowing it to install its own equipment – last year.

Carphone Warehouse chief executive Charles Dunstone says that the results prove that the economic model works.

The launch of the iPhone today (Friday) is also expected to boost sales for the retailer.