Stagecoach and Carpetright have suffered a fall in annual profits - but Dixons Carphone is ringing up an increase in takings.

Stagecoach, which has offices based in Gloucester, has seen its share price fall nearly two per cent after its pre-tax profit dropped from £104.4million to £17.9million.

Stagecoach chief executive Martin Griffiths said: "We are disappointed to report losses at Virgin Trains East Coast.

"However, I am confident that we can return the business to profitability and build on the significant benefits we have delivered to date for customers and taxpayers."

Carpetright , which has stores in Gloucester and Cheltenham, suffered a 93 per cent fall in pre-tax profits, with a statutory profit before tax of £0.9million, £11.9million less than last year.

However, Carpetright have made a bright start to the new financial year, despite economic uncertainty, with the UK like-for-like sales up by two percent for the seven weeks to 17 June.

Carpetright chief executive Wilf Walsh said: "We have made an encouraging start to the new financial year, underpinned by the improving performance of our refurbished UK estate.

"While a challenging consumer environment and competitive landscape remain headwinds, we are confident the additional potential in our self-help initiatives will support an increase in market share."

Dixons Carphone, which owns Currys and PC World, reported annual profits to the end of year 29 April of £501million, 10 per cent higher than the previous year.

Dixons Carphone's like-for-like profits were up four per cent and the statutory revenue rose by nine per cent.

Dixons Carphone chief executive Seb James said: "The improvement in our cost base, the strong leadership position that we have built, the investment that we have made in our digital business and, above all, the enormous shift in customer satisfaction and price competitiveness that we have driven leave us well positioned to flourish in the years ahead."