Currys H1 profits hit £48m despite supply issues

Currys has reported that pre-tax profits hit £48m for the six-month period ending 30 October 2021, up from £45m reported the prior year.

Despite the profit growth, revenue slowed to £2.5bn, down from £2.6bn the previous year, as the retailer continued to be impacted by supply chain issues.

The group said it has coped with the challenges by making the most of its supplier relationships to maintain “market leading” product availability.

In the UK and Ireland, like-for-like electrical sales were down 1% compared with last year. During the period, due to the impact of Covid-19, three UK stores were also permanently closed.

In addition, as previously stated, the retailer intends on issuing a £75m annual buyback scheme in January 2022 as well as paying out a 1p share dividend to its shareholders.

Alex Baldock, group chief executive, said: “We may face further headwinds from omicron and associated restrictions, but the stronger business we’ve built can ride out both the industry-wide disruption to supply chains and bumpy demand.

“After the strong first half, we remain on track to meet the expectations we set out a month ago for a full year adjusted PBT of around £160m.”