Carphone Warehouse has posted strong fourth quarter growth, powered by its Best Buy Mobile venture in the US.

The retailer reported a like-for-like sales fall of 1.7% at its Carphone Warehouse Europe business in the 13 weeks to April 2, but full-year like-for-likes rose 0.9% and the business is expected to increase EBITDA by between 15% and 20%.

Best Buy Mobile, which is run in partnership with US electrical giant Best Buy which also has a 50% share of the Best Buy Europe business, increased connections by 25.9% in the quarter. Best Buy Mobile will make a full-year profit at the top end of expectations of between £90m and £100m.

Carphone Warehouse chief executive Roger Taylor expected the group to continue to do well despite tough trading conditions.

He said: “We believe we are well positioned to continue to capitalise on the rapid development and proliferation of smartphones and the ever expanding range of tablets coming to the market, despite the uncertainty around the economic environment.”

No details were given about the performance of the fledgling Best Buy big-box business in the UK. There are now eight Best Buy stores here, following openings in Bristol and Hayes, Middlesex, in recent weeks. Another three are planned over the spring and summer.

Taylor said: “We continue to experience high levels of customer satisfaction across our big-box stores and online platform, a lead-indicator of the significant opportunity for our innovative, service-led proposition.”

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