The owner of Currys and PC World, DSG International, has reported a half-year loss of £29.8m, blaming a "tough and volatile" trading environment.
The loss, for the 24 weeks to 18 October, compared with a profit of £52.4m in the same period last year.
The company said that sales in stores open longer than a year were down 7% during the period.
It said that its computer business had held up well, but sales of electrical goods had been weak.
DSG added that the outlook for the Christmas trading period and 2009 was uncertain, but it said that the company was prepared for a recession.
To conserve cash, the firm said it would not pay shareholders a dividend. It had already announced plans to reduce investment by £30m.
"We are focused first on trading through the current tough economic environment in which we are prioritising cash generation," said chief executive John Browett.
As well as running the Currys and PC World chains in the UK, DSG trades as Elkjop in the Nordic region and UniEuro in Italy.
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