Sales at Comet grew by 2.9 per cent (up 0.3 per cent like-for-like) to £1.7 billion in the 12 months to April 30.

The store group, which also saw its retail profits grow 0.9 per cent to £43 million during the same period compared with a year ago, said strong demand continued for flat-screen TVs and laptops, but that white goods sales had weakened.

The UK store group also saw its internet sales grow 30 per cent, helped, it said, by the increasing high demand for the store group's "click and collect" service.

Comet's parent company, Kesa Electricals, experienced a 14 per cent jump in sales to £4.5bn (up 3.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis) while group retail profits grew 3.1 per cent to £141.3 million.

Kesa chief executive Jean-Noel Labroue said the group [which also includes Darty in France and other businesses in Europe and Turkey] delivered solid sales and profits in "overall positive market conditions". However, he pointed out that these had weakened over the last six months to April 30.

He added: "We are seeing a continuing decline in consumer confidence and we anticipate further difficult trading conditions ahead."