Currys owner to trim costs as writedown hits earnings

0 The retailer, which owns Currys and PC World, said it remained committed to its store estate

Retailer Dixons Carphone has revealed plans to cut costs by £200 million after tumbling to a half-year loss following a near-£500m hit on its mobile business and store estate.

The Currys and PC World owner swung to a £440m pre-tax loss for the half-year to 27 October against profits of £54m a year earlier after charges of £490m, largely due to a writedown on the value of its Carphone Warehouse arm.

It also said it was set to see full-year costs surge to £190m, including a £17m hit from the

cyber attack revealed in June that saw 5.9 million bank card details and ten million personal data records hacked last year.

But the group offered a dose of cheer to staff with plans for a share incentive award scheme that will see more than 30,000 employees given at least £1,000 in shares each over the next three years.

It said it remained committed to its store estate and had no current plans to shut more than the 102 outlets already announced this financial year.