UK’s Currys warns memory chip shortage will push up prices

By James Davey

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) – Higher prices for smartphones, laptops and other electronics are inevitable later this year due to a global memory chip shortage, the boss of Currys, Britain’s biggest consumer electricals retailer, warned on Thursday.

Chief Executive Alex Baldock said AI and data centres were eating up the world’s supply of silicon.

“Less (is) left over for the likes of mobile phones and laptops and that inevitably will cause availability challenges and some cost price inflation coming through later this year,” he told reporters after Currys published annual results.

His comments came as an EU-funded report warned that Chinese export controls, reliance on U.S. technology and structural weaknesses could leave Europe’s chip industry facing a bleak future unless it rapidly strengthens domestic supplies.

Baldock said it was too early to estimate the scale of the price rises. However, he said Currys would use its buying power as market leader to limit increases and secure supplies.

“We’ve seen this coming for some time, we’ve made sure that we’ve bought forward, so we’ve got good security of supply in computing and mobile phones until at least September.”

Currys shares were down 3.3%, trimming 2026 gains to 25.6%.

‘VERY SOLID’ TRADING

Currys said trading at the start of its new financial year, which began on May 3, had been “very solid” as it reported an 18% rise in profit for 2025/26, helped by sales growth in both its UK & Ireland and Nordics businesses.

Baldock said the soccer World Cup had spurred demand for televisions, with sales of 90-inch and over TVs trebling, home beer pumps and hot tubs. The recent heatwave caused a spike in demand for fans and air conditioning products.

Currys reported an adjusted profit before tax of £191 million ($254 million) for the year ended May 2, on revenue up 6% to £9.25 billion.

Like-for-like revenue in the UK & Ireland division rose 3%, outperforming a generally subdued retail sector. Nordics revenue increased 6% on the same basis.

Last month, Currys named Fredrik Tønnesen, the head of its Nordics business, as group CEO, succeeding Baldock.

Baldock, CEO for eight years and the architect of Currys’ turnaround, will leave on August 31 and become CEO of health and beauty retailer Boots in the autumn.

Currys said that despite continuing economic uncertainty, it was comfortable with analysts’ average forecast for adjusted pretax profit of £198 million in 2026/27.

($1 = 0.7520 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey. Editing by Kate Holton and Mark Potter)