Dixons Stores Group International, which owns Dixons, Currys and PC World, has told journalists that profits for the first half of 2007 will be £20 million lower than expected. The company's Group Finance Director, Kevin O'Byrne, blamed the news on the slow uptake of Windows Vista products, explaining that the company had been forced to clear stock by offering it at lower prices.

In a statement, the group's chairman, Sir John Collins, said that "The reduction in laptop stocks that arose out of disappointing sales of VISTA related products and a changing sales mix have reduced gross margins by around 2% in the computing division, impacting Group profits by around £20 million in the first half.

He added that "Stocks are now at normal levels and we expect to recover some of the lost margin through the second half."