Mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse said that sales in the 13 weeks to the end of December rose by 374 per cent to £10.2 million (€12.95 million).

The Christmas period accounted for more than half of that, with sales rising by 420 per cent to £5.52 million in the four weeks to December 31st.

The company also said it has been appointed as the first agent to the 085 Meteor network, which is due to commence operations on February 22nd.