Douglas says Xmas strong in Germany, weak elsewhere

DUESSELDORF, Germany - German perfume, books and clothing retailer Douglas said fiscal first-quarter sales including the key Christmas period rose 1.4 percent as strong demand in its home market offset falling sales abroad.

The group also on Wednesday reported earnings for its fiscal year to Sept. 30, 2011, showing pretax profit of 138 million euros ($176 million), narrowly missing its own target for 140 million euros.

So far, indications from other German retailers such as DIY store operator Praktiker have been that demand held up in Germany, while shoppers in other European countries were more cautious.

Germans consumers have been more resilient than counterparts thanks to low unemployment and good wage prospects, and retail data has shown shoppers came out in force for the last part of the Christmas trading season.

Data on Wednesday however showed Germany's economy shrank in the last three months of 2011, showing the first signs of feeling the pain from the euro zone debt crisis.

Analyst had been expecting Douglas to report first-quarter sales of 1.2 billion euros and 2010/2011 pretax profit of 137 million euros. ($1 = 0.7826 euros)

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan)