Currys announces it will introduce more automation equipment and enters a "recruitment slump" following employer national insurance changes, although it said the consumer environment "livened up" over the festive period, with shoppers snapping up coffee machines and AI-enabled laptops computer.

The electrical appliances retailer said it would pay a dividend to shareholders for the first time in two years after underlying sales rose 2% in the UK and Ireland and 1% at its Nordic stores. Since 2021, both arms have not grown at the same time.

Currys shares surged more than 9% to nearly 90p on Wednesday after chief executive Alex Baldock said the company was performing well in a tough technology market and expected to make profits of up to £155m by the end of the year. April - £5m to £15m higher than previous forecast.

"Our market has been down slightly so far this year, but picked up slightly during the peak period (over Christmas)," he said. "There are several factors dampening sentiment - inflation, interest rates and general confidence - but there are some signs that we have passed the trough in consumer confidence and spending, that inflation has peaked and that interest rates will fall."

He said shoppers are ready to pay top dollar for AI-enabled laptops (such as Google's Chromebook Plus or laptops with Microsoft's Copilot) and AI-enabled phones, and are also snapping up coffee machines, coffee machines and mobile phones over Christmas. Drones and beauty technology. In contrast, TV sales fell.

Baldock said Curry was facing £30m in extra costs due to changes to the national insurance system introduced in the October budget, but the company had identified how to offset half of that.

He said "some price increases are inevitable" but that Koulis was not planning to take the lead and instead wanted to find ways to "mitigate the impact as much as possible". He said national insurance reforms "have suppressed hiring and promoted automation and offshoring".

The company plans to implement more automation, including installing electronic price tags in 100 stores this year so that shelf edge information can be changed at the push of a button, and installing more equipment in warehouses to increase efficiency. The company already has 1,000 employees in India and may seek to expand there.

Baldock said there were no layoffs planned at Curris, but there would be a period of "recruiting sluggishness" as the company tried to limit the impact of rising labor costs. He urged the government to phase in national insurance reforms more slowly before an April deadline and said new employment rules such as guaranteed hours for workers and changes to business rates should be carefully considered, which could increase the impact of large retailers cost.

John Moore, senior investment manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said: “It’s been a tough seven days for UK retailers, but Currys has managed to buck the trend, driven by a general increase in artificial intelligence products and tech spending "The company is a classic slow-build, bootstrap story, with sales rising, market share growing, and profits moving in the right direction."