Currys could reveal Black Friday boost or Budget hit in interim results

Electronics retailer Currys will reveal how much impact the recent Budget is likely to have on its sales next week.

Investors will hope the chain has carried on a recent financial recovery into the autumn when it announces its interim results on December 12.

The company is expected to post a profit of £137 million for the half ending October, up 16% on the same period last year.

Currys has turned its fortunes around since struggling amid the cost-of-living crisis, partly by reducing its overheads.

It reported 5% growth in sales in the UK and Ireland during the four months to August.

The growth was partly driven by people visiting its stores to learn more about artificial intelligence technology from its in-store experts.

Currys has long promoted its offering of face-to-face technology advice to customers in its stores as a differentiator, and it recently said AI is “bringing excitement and innovation to customers”.

The results are expected to shed some light on whether Currys converted that interest into a bumper Black Friday sales weekend.

However, the chain was hit with a downgrade from analysts at Deutsche Bank in early December, mainly down to the potential impact of inflation on its business.

Deutsche Bank cited “caution on the scale of the Budget impact, both the magnitude of cost inflation and potential for return of category spending”.

Currys was among a group of retailers that signed a letter criticising Labour’s Budget tax rises on businesses.

The letter said the measures would lead to job cuts, and would cost the industry £7.06 billion a year.

Arranged by the British Retail Consortium, it was also signed by household names including Amazon, Aldi, Boots, B&Q, Greggs, JD Sports, Marks & Spencer, Next and Primark.

Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Currys has seen last year’s progress spill over into the current trading period, and next week we’ll find out if that’s persisted for the whole of the first half.

“The UK’s retail environment has had a mixed few months.

“And while consumer confidence has picked up lately, much still hinges on the vital festive trading season and of particular interest will be whether the latest AI-powered household electronic devices have sold well on Black Friday.

“Investors will also be hoping for a recovery in the Nordic region which has been dragging on group performance.

“Management’s previously hinted at the return of dividend payments, so any further direction on that is also something to watch, but there can be no guarantees.”