LONDON (Reuters) - British electricals retailer Currys stuck to annual guidance as it reported falling sales in most markets for the four months to the end of August, but said UK trends were improving despite ongoing challenges in the Nordics.
Currys, which has already warned that the economic outlook for this year would be tough as consumers have less disposable income, reported a 2% fall in underlying sales in its UK and Ireland market and an 8% fall in sales in its Nordic unit.
"Our priorities this year are simple: to keep the UK and Ireland's encouraging momentum going, and to get the Nordics back on track," Curry's CEO Alex Baldock said in a statement on Thursday.
Sales trends in the UK and Ireland in July and August improved compared to May and June, the group said, citing strong sales of domestic appliances and mobile phones, but weakness in computing equipment.
In the group's problematic Nordics business, where it is trying to cut costs through reducing headcount amongst other strategies, trading was still challenging but the group said revenue trends had improved slightly.
Currys said it would give an update on its Greek business, where a strategic review is underway which could lead to a sale, in due course. Sales in Greece rose 3% in the period.
For the current financial year to the end of April, analysts expect pretax profit to fall by 14% to 102 million pounds ($128 million) according to a company-supplied consensus forecast.
($1 = 0.7997 pounds)