AO World says Brexit vote hasn't hit sales

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) - British online electricals retailer AO World has not seen a drop in sales since the country voted to leave the European Union on June 23, its boss said on Thursday, adding to signs consumer spending is holding up.

Following the "Brexit" vote, several surveys have indicated a sharp drop in UK consumer confidence.

However, AO Chief Executive John Roberts said that had not been reflected in shoppers' actual spending with his business.

"At the minute we haven’t seen any material sales impact that gives us any cause for concern," he told reporters.

"I’m always a bit sceptical on polls - what people say they’re going to do and what people actually do are often two very different things," he said.

Roberts added that with disposable incomes still rising, the economic environment was very different from that of the financial crisis in 2008.

"There is no credit crunch in all this. This is not 2008, where suddenly peoples’ pound in their pocket completely dried up," he said.

Official data on Thursday showed the sharpest drop UK retail sales in June since December 2015, but the statistics office said this appeared to be due to poor weather and there was no evidence of a post-referendum impact.

John Lewis, Britain's biggest department store retailer, has also published three weeks of sales data since June 23 showing solid growth.

AO World, which rivals Dixons Carphone and Home Retail's Argos, sells everything from washing machines and fridges to vacuum cleaners, TVs and computers.

Roberts said a lot of AO's business was from shoppers replacing must-have equipment, while it was also benefiting from the trend towards online shopping.

"If you need a washing machine you need a washing machine. And if the sun comes out and your fridge freezer fails you need a new fridge freezer," he said.

AO said its total UK revenue grew 25 percent in the three months to June 30, its fiscal first quarter. That compared with growth of 18.6 percent in its 2015-16 year.

The firm, which entered Germany in 2014 and launched in the Netherlands in March this year, said overseas revenue in euros increased 101 percent.

AO shares, which were hit last year by a profit warning, were up 9.7 percent at 147.4 pence by 0835 GMT, valuing the business at 617 million pounds ($813 million).

AO does not have any direct exposure to the pound's slide versus the dollar and euro because it buys and sells its products in local currencies.

But it could be impacted indirectly as a weaker pound will hit some of its manufacturers which may try to raise prices.

($1 = 0.7587 pounds)

(Editing by Mark Potter)