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Currys has fallen to a pre-tax loss of £17m for the half year ended 29 October 2022, down from profits of £45m the prior year, as it attributed its weak performance outside of UK&I to its competitors’ “heavy” discounting.
In light of this, the group is now expecting its full year PBT to be between £100m and £125m due to its losses, down from an initial guidance of £125m to £145m.
Nevertheless, the retailer maintains that the business is “well on track” for its £300m saving target. The group said it was also reassured by the tech market, which is still larger than it was pre-pandemic, having seen a year-on-year increase of 14% in the UK.
Elsewhere, Currys saw group like-for-like sales fall by 8%, with UK and Ireland sales falling by 10%.
Alex Baldock, chief executive of Currys, said: “Currys UK&I performance continues to strengthen, and is showing real momentum, reflecting good progress in our transformation. International, however, has had a tough period, and faces short-term but intense pressures from a disrupted market.
“It’s a tough environment, and we are planning for that to continue. Still, we expect to maintain the trajectory of improving UK&I profitability and a robust recovery in international profits. Our ever-improving customer experience and strong services give us confidence in improving margins. And we will continue our excellent progress on cost efficiency.”
He added: “We have a strong balance sheet and a strategy that’s working. By focusing on the things we can control, while doing everything we can to support our colleagues and customers, we’ll ride out the current turbulence and emerge an even stronger business well-set for long-term success.”
