- It now expects pretax profit for the year to April to be between £115m and £120m
- This is against a previous forecast of £105m to £115m
Currys shares soared on Tuesday after the electronics retailer lifted its full-year profit guidance on the back of a return to sales growth in the first four months of 2024.
Group like-for-like sales were up 2 per cent in the 16-week period thanks to 2 per cent growth in both the UK and Nordics, where the group expects earnings before nasties to ‘more than double’ on the same time last year.
The FTSE 250 group told investors it now expects pre-tax profit in the year to the end of April to come in at £115million to £120million, up from a previous forecast of £105million to £115million.
The electricals retailer told investors on Tuesday that it now expects pretax profit in the year to the end of April to be between £115million and £120million
Currys shares were up 9.26 per cent to 71.40p in Tuesday morning trading.
Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the UK and Ireland is expected to be in line with consensus.
Currys also said that its cost savings efforts are ‘more than offsetting inflation’, while margins are ‘continuing to rebuild’
The results are a welcome boost for the group after the firm experienced a 3 per cent fall in sales over the crucial Christmas period.
Alex Baldock, chief executive of Currys, said: ‘Sales are now growing again, margins are benefiting from higher customer adoption of solutions and services, and cost discipline is good.
‘All this means improved profits and, with our strong cash position, we’re well set up for the year ahead.’
In February, Currys rebuffed takeover plans from private equity giant Elliot Advisors.
The Waterstones bookshop chain owner abandoned its pursuit of the retailer after Currys’ bosses rejected two takeover offers worth about £682million and £750million.
In March, less than a month after it said it was interested in Currys, Chinese online shopping giant JD.com declared it would not make any formal proposals.
Currys – which traces its history back 140 years to a bicycle repair business founded by Henry Curry – has 28,000 staff and more than 800 stores across eight countries selling electrical goods and mobile phones.
Guy Lawson-Johns, equity analyst, at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘Takeover speculation grabbed headlines back in March, but with both parties having backed out of talks, trading performance is firmly in focus.
‘Its results have been underwhelming in recent times. Consumers have simply struggled to justify discretionary spend on high ticket item like TVs, computers and gadgets.
‘But slowing inflation, strong wage growth and the prospect of UK interest rate cuts gives hope to the prospect of these headwinds easing.
‘Key to convincing markets that the recovery is now is full swing will be continued progress in the Nordics.
‘While the balance between sales and margins continues to improve, it’s essential that encouraging momentum is maintained if the share price is to avoid slipping back to pre-offer levels.’