Finance
UK's AO World raises profit forecast again, lifting stock
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
AO World raises its profit forecast again, boosting shares by 12% as it gains market share in consumer electronics. Strong Black Friday sales expected.
By Raechel Thankam Job
(Reuters) -Britain's AO World raised its annual profit forecast for the second time in three months on Tuesday as its discounted electronic goods gained market share in its consumer-focused business, sending the retailer's shares as much as 12% higher.
AO, which sells items such as tumble driers and TVs, now expects full-year adjusted pre-tax profit to be near the top of a 45 million pound ($59 million) to 50 million pound range for the year ending March 31. In September, it raised the lower end.
The performance contrasts with broader sector nervousness ahead of Finance Minister Rachel Reeves' budget on Wednesday, with major retailers warning about potential impacts on consumer sentiment, particularly for discretionary purchases.
AO's finance chief Mark Higgins said he hoped the budget would be "centred around driving growth in the economy and creating jobs" but added: "I feel like I will be disappointed".
AO ramped up advertising and added more than 900 products to its range in the first half, helping drive a 12% rise in business-to-consumer retail revenue as customers turned to its discounted membership programme.
Higgins said 70% of customers are planning purchases during the crucial Black Friday trading period, with AO expecting stronger holiday sales than last year and second-half profitability similar to the first.
"We've seen the customer being resilient this year...coming off the back of a couple of tough years in the electricals market, we have seen the overall market for our products increase", Higgins told Reuters.
AO's shares were up nearly 5% at 1012 GMT, leading gains on the FTSE mid-cap index.
For the first half of fiscal year 2026, AO's adjusted pre-tax profit climbed about 5% to 17.9 million pounds, underpinned by double-digit total revenue growth.
($1 = 0.7632 pounds)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Thomas Derpinghaus and Alexander Smith)
Adjusted pre-tax profit refers to a company's earnings before tax, adjusted for certain items that may not reflect the company's ongoing performance. It provides a clearer picture of profitability.
Consumer sentiment is a measure of how optimistic or pessimistic consumers are regarding their expected financial situation and the overall economy. It influences spending and investment decisions.
Black Friday is a shopping event that occurs the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, marking the start of the holiday shopping season. Retailers often offer significant discounts.
Business-to-consumer retail revenue is the income generated from sales of goods and services directly to consumers. It reflects the performance of retail businesses in the consumer market.
Market share is the portion of a market controlled by a particular company or product. It is calculated by dividing the company's sales by the total sales of the industry.
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