By Catherine Reynolds
Investing.com -- Curry's stock (LON:CURY) fell sharply on Wednesday after warning of a 'softer' market in the runup to the key Christmas period, product shortages and further risks from the spread of Omicron-variant Covid-19.
The stock fell 8.8% in London by 7:13 AM ET (1213 GMT), even though the company reiterated its existing guidance of 160 million pounds ($212 million) in pretax profit for the current financial year as it published its half-year earnings.
The U.K. retailer of electrical and telecommunications goods posted revenue of 4.78 billion pounds, little changed from 4.85 billion pounds a year earlier. The company was an early winner of the pandemic as the surge in demand for electronic devices generated a handsome windfall for it, despite widespread store closures.
The company warned that with uncertainty over the new Covid variant, trading conditions continued to be challenging.
“Our market has been softer over recent weeks, as we may face into further headwinds from omicron and associated restrictions,” chief executive Alex Baldock said in the earnings statement.
The company also warned that supply chain constraints had led to some product shortages in the critical holiday shopping season.
The news overshadowed the resumption of dividends, at an interim level of 1 pound per share, as well as the announcement that its 75 million pound share buyback program, announced in November, will start in January.