Currys, the electricals retailer formerly known as Dixons Carphone, announced a £75m share buyback today after group organic sales jumped 15% on two years ago, driven by demand for tech products.
The group has benefited from people buying computer equipment for work and leisure products such as for gaming at home.
It said it had put measures in place to mitigate supply chain disruption, and expects to deliver a robust peak trading season.
As a result the company, which is still recovering from Covid lockdowns which forced the closure of its stores, reiterated its consensus forecasts for full-year pretax profit of £161m.
It also reiterated medium-term goals, and said for the full year 2021/22, its capital expenditure would be £20m below a previous guidance of £190m.
"Sales were very strong at the start of the period as we saw pent up demand from customers choosing to shop in stores after extended lockdowns but strong two-year growth has continued through the summer and into the autumn," it said of its electricals sales.
Currys said sales in the six months to the end of October were up 15% on a like-for-like basis compared to the same time two years ago before the Covid-19 crisis.
However, the retailer revealed business remains 1% 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% compared with two years ago, with strong growth in electricals offsetting falls in mobile sales. Compared with last year sales were down 3%.
Electricals soared 21% on a two-year basis and were down 1% 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% compared with two years ago.
The company today played down any concerns over supply chain issues and staff shortages.
Additional reporting from PA
