Carphone Warehouse Revenue Up 13%

London Carphone Warehouse Group PLC warned Thursday that challenging times lay ahead even as it reported a 13% increase in retail revenues to one billion pounds ($1.5 billion) in the last three months of December.

CEO Charles Dunstone said the company would focus on generating cash and controlling costs this year as the economic environment continues to worsen.

The company, which set up a mobile phone and retail joint venture with the Best Buy Co. last year, said the mobile-phone handset market was declining but sales had been strong over Christmas. Same-store revenues rose 6.5%, but were down