Tablet computers give Dixons early Christmas present Sebastian James, chief executive, said: "We remain cautious about the outlook for consumers in our markets. Very strong trading this time last year, together with the fact that we have now annualised Comet's exit makes the second half more challenging. Nevertheless, we have had a great first half and our stores have never looked better - or had better offers for customers. As well as the growth in sales in the UK, Dixons reported a 3pc rise in like-for-like sales in its Northern European business. However, like-for-like sales in Greece dropped by 14pc. This meant that pre-tax profits grew from £600,000 last year to £22.7m. However, these results do not include Dixons troublesome online business in France, Pixmania, or its Turkish operations Electroworld. In the last few months Dixons has struck deals to sell these operations so it can focus on its businesses in the UK and the Nordics. The losses on these sales totalled £95m, meaning Dixons racked up a post-tax loss of £100.9m.