Currys has recorded improved sales and profits but warned of the consequences of the new government’s Budget, which it described as “unwelcome headwinds”.
The electronics retailer posted a group 1% sales rise to £3.91m for the half-year ended 26 October 2024, while adjusted profit before tax climbed £25m to £9m following a £10m loss last year.
The retailer held its guidance and said it continued to expect growth in profits and free cash flow for the year, however, chief executive Alex Baldock said that the latest government policy would: “add cost quickly and materially, depress investment and hiring, boost automation and offshoring, and make some price rises inevitable”
He added: “Still, there’s plenty we can control, including mitigating much of this headwind. We’ll keep colleague engagement world class, customer satisfaction increasing, cashflow growing for shareholders, and playing an ever-bigger role in society.”
In the UK, revenue grew 6% thanks to the group’s “strategic initiatives”, including its own mobile network offer iD Mobile – which saw subscribers grow 32% to 2 million.
Currys said in a statement to the City this morning: “Our Mobile business is growing, profitable and cash generative. iD Mobile, our MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) in the UK, has been the standout performer this year. It has grown +32% YoY to 2.0m subscribers, achieving our year-end target well ahead of plans.”
Currys also said market share had stabilised and slightly grew in the UK, while growth margin climbed 10 basis points year on year.
Currys group chief executive Alex Baldock said: “We’re very encouraged by our progress. Currys’ performance continues to strengthen, with profits and cashflow growing significantly, and the Group’s balance sheet is strong.
“In the UK&I, we made big improvements to both online and stores channels, customers continued to take more of the solutions and services that are valuable to them and to us, and such growth drivers as B2B and iD Mobile performed well. All this showed in growing sales, market share, gross margins and profits. In the Nordics, we gained market share, increased gross margins, tightly controlled costs and grew profits in a still-tough consumer environment.
“Underpinning our progress in both markets is strong customer satisfaction, which increased again, and colleague engagement now firmly established in the top 10% of companies worldwide.
“We were well prepared for our peak trading period, with healthy stock and market-beating, best-ever deals that show our unmatched importance to suppliers. We’re trading in line with expectations. One highlight is rising demand for AI laptops, where we enjoy over 75% market share in the UK. AI is a trend with a lot further to run.”
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