Electricals retailer Currys has upped its guidance for the year after better-than-expected results in the UK and Ireland helped offset its tumultuous performance in the Nordics, but still expects profit to be down from last year.
The improved expectations will ease the fears of investors, after Currys shares have fallen by 28.4% since the start of March, as it issued a second profit warning in three months.
Profit for the year is now set to fall between £110 million and £120 million, more than the previously expected £104 million. But that’s still down from £126 million last year.
UK and Ireland profits are set to rise by 40%, with especially strong trading in March and April. On the other hand, the business continued to struggle in the Nordics. Currys said it had “made progress” to cut costs there, but the one-off actions to reduce those expenses will themselves cost between £15 million and £20 million.
In March, Currys appointed a new regional chief for its troubled Nordic business as it moves to turn the unit around amid heavy competition from rivals there.
Alex Baldock, group CEO, said at the time: “Our Nordics performance is not where we want or expect it to be. The intensity of competition may be unrelenting, but we’re no stranger to tough markets and aggressive competitors ... We now need to go further and faster to improve our performance.”
