// Currys has revealed plans to hand back £75m to shareholders via a share buyback scheme
// The tech retailer saw sales rise 15% on a like-for-like basis in six months to end of October
Currys has announced plans to hand back £75 million to shareholders through a share buyback following strong sales compared with pre-pandemic levels.
Bosses said sales in the six months to the end of October were up 15 per cent on a like-for-like basis versus the same period two years ago before the Covid-19 crisis.
However, the retailer revealed business remains 1 per cent below the same period a year ago, when demand soared as households looked to update their in-home technology whilst stuck inside during the various lockdowns.
In the UK and Ireland like-for-like sales were up 11 per cent compared with two years ago, with strong growth in electricals offsetting a drop in mobile sales.
However, compared with last year, sales were down 3 per cent.
Electricals soared 21 per cent on a two-year basis and were down 1 per cent on last year, the company added. These included strong sales in the spring when stores reopened in April.
Sales in its Nordic and Greece divisions were up 19 per cent compared with two years ago.
Looking forward, bosses said they expect a strong festive period and confirmed they expect full year pre-tax profits to hit around £161 million, helped by a £20 million cut to the amount spent on capital expenditure.
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