Comet is the UK's second biggest electrical retailer

Sales at Comet went up by 3.9% over the two months to 3 January, beating analysts' expectations.

But the firm's French market leader Darty, which is battling weak consumer demand, saw sales growth of just 0.3%.

Profit margins were slightly down but Kesa, formerly the electrical retail arm of Kingfisher, said it would still meet full-year profit targets.