REG - Currys PLC - Profit guidance above market expectations

CurrysAnnouncement

Today 07:00

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RNS Number : 6742P  Currys PLC  21 January 2026

We Help Everyone Enjoy Amazing Technology

Trading Update for 10 weeks ended 10 January 2026 ("Peak")

Strong trading drives profit guidance above market expectations

 

 •    Group Peak like-for-like revenue(1) growth accelerated to +6%

 

 •    UK & Ireland like-for-like revenue(1) growth of +3% demonstrating
      continued momentum
      o  Gaining market share with strong sales in mobile alongside growth in
      computing and appliances
      o  Gross margin improvements despite cost headwinds
      o  Omnichannel sales growing faster than individual channels at +11% YoY
      o  Recurring Service revenue(2) +7%, credit adoption +200bps to 25.0%, B2B
      sales +21% and new categories +42%
      o  iD Mobile subscribers +19% YoY to 2.5m, adding close to 1m subscribers in
      two years

 

 •    Nordics like-for-like revenue(1) growth of +12%, a standout performance
      o  Market share gains in a buoyant market with sales growth across all
      categories
      o  Good balance of sales growth and gross margin investment in all countries
      o  Omnichannel sales growing strongly, including order & collect sales
      +42% YoY

 

 •    Outlook
      o  Group adjusted profit before tax is expected to be £180-190m, +11-17% YoY
      and ahead of consensus expectations(3)
      o  £50m share buyback programme underway, bringing total cash returned to
      shareholders to c.£75m for the year
      o  Expect year end net cash to finish above £100m target

 

                        H1              Peak            Year to date
 Like-for-like Sales    YoY % change    YoY % change    YoY % change
   UK & Ireland         +4%             +3%             +3%
   Nordics              +4%             +12%            +7%
 Group                  +4%             +6%             +5%

 

Alex Baldock, Group Chief Executive

"We're pleased with our very strong trading over Peak, growing sales healthily
and in a disciplined way. We now expect this year's profits to exceed market
expectations, to keep returning cash to shareholders and finish the year with
more than £100m net cash.

 

"Our Omnichannel model is winning. We gained market share in both UK&I and
Nordics, in both stores and online, and our fastest growth was where customers
use both channels together. This is a competitive advantage we'll keep
building.

 

"In the Nordics, which represents over 40% of our business, the market
continued to recover, and we grew sales in every category, and every country.
Along with sales growth, we've kept our hard-won margin and cost discipline
which are producing substantial growth in profits and cashflow, a fitting
reward for the team's great work in building a sustainably stronger business.

 

"In the UK&I, we grew sales in our core business and the growth areas
we've targeted. Our sales to small and medium-sized businesses grew by +21%,
iD mobile reached 2.5 million customers, and credit adoption of 25% was double
that of five years ago. These are all sources of higher-margin and recurring
revenue. We maintained healthy underlying gross margins which, alongside cost
savings, are offsetting unhelpful cost headwinds.

 

"My heartfelt thanks to our thousands of capable and committed colleagues who
are building this ever-stronger Currys. We go into 2026 confident in our
strategy and energised by the opportunities ahead."

 

Current year guidance

Group adjusted Profit Before Tax is expected to be £180-190m, +11-17% YoY,
including significant growth in adjusted EBIT for Nordics, and broadly stable
adjusted EBIT in the UK&I.

Guidance on known and controllable financial items is set out below and
remains unchanged from previous guidance, except where noted.

 

The Group expects:

 •    Total interest expense of £60-65m
 •    Capital expenditure of around £90m
 •    Exceptional cash outflow of around £40m
 •    Pension contributions of £82m, all made in H1
 •    Cash dividend payments of £25m across the 2024/25 final and £8m 2025/26
      interim dividend
 •    Share buybacks of £50m of which £30m has been completed to date, with
      remaining £20m to be completed no later than 30 April 2026, subject to market
      conditions

 

Other technical cash flow items:

 •    Depreciation & amortisation of around £270m (from around £265m)
 •    Cash payments of leasing costs of around £260m
 •    Cash tax of around £15m (from around £20m)
 •    Cash interest of around £15m
 •    Share purchases to cover colleague share awards of around £25m (from
      £15-20m)

 

The Board has declared an Interim dividend of 0.75p per ordinary share, the
dividend will be paid on 28 January 2026 to shareholders registered at the
close of business on 30 December 2025.

 

Longer term guidance

The Group is continuing to target at least 3% adjusted EBIT margin in both the
UK&I and the Nordics.

Alongside this, we remain focused on free cash flow generation. We expect to
keep annual capital expenditure below £100m, for exceptional cash costs to be
below £10m by 2026/27, and to keep working capital at least neutral despite
continued outflow from the expected growth of the iD Mobile business.

The Group's pension contributions will reduce to £13m per annum for five
years from 2026/27 and cease thereafter.

The Group will aim to maintain a net cash balance sheet of at least £100m,
pay the required pension contributions, invest to grow the business, pay and
grow the ordinary dividend, while returning any surplus capital in the form of
share buybacks.

 

1.     All sales numbers refer to the 10 weeks (Peak) or 36 weeks (year to
date) ended 10 January 2026. All other performance metrics are shown for the 9
or 35 weeks ended 3 January 2026, unless otherwise stated.

2.     Recurring service revenue is the total of Commission, Support
service and Connectivity revenue.

3.     Consensus forecasts FY 2025/26 adjusted PBT of £180m. Company
compiled consensus is available here:
https://www.currysplc.com/investors/analyst-coverage-and-consensus/
(https://www.currysplc.com/investors/analyst-coverage-and-consensus/)

 

Peak trading update

There will be a live presentation and audio webcast followed by Q&A call
for investors and analysts at 9:00am.

The presentation slides will be available via the following link:
https://brrmedia.news/CURY_PTU_26 (https://brrmedia.news/CURY_PTU_26)

To participate in the live audio Q&A session, please use the following
participant access details:

UK: +44 (0) 33 0551 0200, please quote 'Currys Peak Trading Update' when
prompted by the operator.

Upcoming investor events

25 February 2026 - Supply Chain and Service Operations tour, Newark

10 March 2026 - Store tour with Group Chief Executive, Reading

Next scheduled announcement

The Group is scheduled to publish a full year trading update on 20 May 2026.

For further information

 Dan Homan      Investor Relations  +44 (0)7401 400442
 Carla Fabiano  Investor Relations  +44 (0)7460 944523
 Tim Danaher    Brunswick Group     +44 (0)2074 045959

Information on Currys plc is available at www.currysplc.com
(http://www.currysplc.com)
Follow us on LinkedIn and X: @currysplc

 

About Currys plc

Currys plc is a leading omnichannel retailer of technology products and
services, operating online and through 702 stores in 6 countries. We Help
Everyone Enjoy Amazing Technology, however they choose to shop with us.

In the UK & Ireland we trade as Currys and in the UK we operate our own
mobile virtual network, iD Mobile. In the Nordics we trade under the Elkjøp
brand. We're the market leader in all markets, able to serve all households
and employing more than 25,000 capable and committed colleagues.

We help everyone enjoy amazing technology. We believe in the power of
technology to improve lives, helping people stay connected, productive, fit,
healthy, and entertained. We're here to help everyone enjoy those benefits and
with our scale and expertise, we are uniquely placed to do so.

Our full range of services and support makes it easy for our customers to
discover, choose, afford and enjoy the right technology to the full. The
Group's operations include one of Europe's largest technology repair
facilities, a sourcing office in Hong Kong and an extensive distribution
network, centred on Newark in the UK and Jönköping in Sweden, enabling fast
and efficient delivery to stores and homes.

We're a leader in giving technology a longer life through repair, recycling
and reuse. We're reducing our impact on the environment in our operations and
our wider value chain and we aim to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. We
offer customers products that help them save energy, reduce waste and save
water, and we partner with charitable organisations to bring the benefits of
amazing technology to those who might otherwise be excluded.

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking. Such
statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from any expected future events or results referred to in these
forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable laws,
regulations or accounting standards, we do not undertake any obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future developments or otherwise. Information contained on the
Currys plc website or the 'X' feed does not form part of this announcement and
should not be relied on as such.

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