By James Davey
LONDON (Reuters) – British electricals retailer Currys raised its annual profit outlook after reporting a 2% rise in underlying sales for the Christmas trading period, with strong demand for mobile phones, gaming and computing offsetting weaker trends in TVs.
The group said like-for-like sales in its UK & Ireland division rose 2% over the 10 weeks to Jan. 4 and were up 1% in its Nordics business. Gross margin was stable in the UK & Ireland and improved in the Nordics.
Reflecting its stronger cash generation and improved balance sheet, Currys also said it would declare a dividend of around 1.3 pence a share alongside full-year results in July – its first since an interim payout in its 2022/23 year.
Shares in Currys, a takeover target last year, were up 9.5% on Wednesday, extending year-on-year gains to 94%.
“We’re pleased by our strong peak trading. We grew in both markets, continuing the trend of Currys’ strengthening performance, and we believe this year’s profits will be ahead of market expectations,” CEO Alex Baldock said.
He highlighted that AI laptops, where Currys has a 75% market share, and premium mobiles proved especially popular.
Currys forecast a year to end-April 2025 adjusted profit before tax of 145-155 million pounds ($177-$189 million) – a rise of up to 31% on the year and ahead of analysts’ average forecast of 140 million pounds.
Last week, UK retailers including Next, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and M&S all reported robust Christmas trading but all flagged concerns about rising costs, the strength of the economy and consumers in 2025.
Currys warned last month that measures in the new Labour government’s first budget in October, including hikes in employer social security contributions and the minimum wage from April, would cost the group an extra 32 million pounds a year and make price rises inevitable as well as driving more automation and offshoring.
Two-thirds of British retailers will raise prices this year in response to the budget measures, according to a survey of finance chiefs published on Wednesday.
($1 = 0.8201 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Paul Sandle and Louise Heavens)
