Electrical retailer Currys sticks to guidance after first-half loss

Subdued market for discretionary spending weighs on sales

Electrical retailer Currys on Thursday stuck to its annual guidance as it reported a first-half loss in line with last year, hurt by a subdued market for discretionary spending and particular weakness in its Nordics business.

The seller of cookers, fridges, washing machines, TVs, computers and mobile phones had already warned that the outlook for its 2023/24 year would be tough as consumers grapple with less disposable income.

The first half is seasonally much weaker for Currys, as it ends in October before the run in to Black Friday and Christmas.

It reported an adjusted pretax loss of £16 million (€18.5 million) for the six months to October 28th, versus a loss of £17 million in the same period last year, on revenue down 7 per cent to £4.2 billion.

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Currys said trading since the period end had been consistent with the board's expectations.

Prior to the update, analysts were on average forecasting a full-year adjusted pretax profit of £103 million, down from the £119 million made in 2022/23. - Reuters