By Sarah Young
LONDON (Reuters) -British electricals retailer Currys said group sales rose 3% in the summer period, helped by sales of air conditioners and fans in hot weather, while positive news from a pension review, also helped lift the stock.
Shares in Currys jumped 22% to 132 pence, hitting a four-year high in early deals on Thursday, on the strong trading, plus the completion of a triennial pension review and the launch of a 50 million pound ($68 million) share buyback.
For the 17 weeks to the end of August, underlying revenues in its biggest UK and Ireland market were up 3%, as customers bought more cooling products, Currys said. Britain this year experienced its warmest summer since records began in 1884.
On financing for its pension scheme, the company said it would pay future contributions of 13 million pounds per year to March 2031, lower than the 78 million pounds annually it had previously expected to 2028.
Panmure Liberum analysts said that would result in a material boost to free cash flow from 2027.
“We see numerous catalysts that could drive further upgrades through the year,” they added.
Currys said it was confident on future growth, putting it on track to meet market forecasts for annual profit to grow by 5%, helping reassure investors. The stock had lost 12% over the last three months due to concerns over consumer spending.
“It’s been a good start to the year, with encouraging performance across the group,” CEO Alex Baldock said in a statement.
In both the UK and its Nordic regions, where revenues were up 2%, sales of laptops with AI functions jumped, Currys said.
($1 = 0.7402 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton)
