By Guy Taylor
JD Sports reported a dip in full-year pre-tax profit as it flagged a “challenging and volatile” market, after its results were delayed for two days.
Profit before tax and adjusting items came in at £917.2m, down 7.5 per cent, which the sports retailer said reflected continued investment in its supply chain and a number of new stores.
Sales growth of nine per cent meant revenue in the 12 months to January held steady at £10.5bn, up 2.7 per cent.
Investors were left surprised earlier in the week after the ‘kings of trainers’ said it would delay publication of its full-year results for two days, with no explanation given.
The news came after JD Sports downgraded its profit forecasts for the financial year in January, due to higher discounting in its stores and reduced customer spend.
Shares are down over 18 per cent in the year to date, although they were largely unaffected by the results delay.
The firm said the first quarter had been largely in line with expectations and mantained its outlook for pre-tax profit of between £955m and £1.04bn in 2024.
Last month JD Sports said it would pay £878m for Hibbett, an Alabama-headquartered ‘fashion inspired’ retailer with stores in 36 states across the States. Chief executive Régis Schultz has ambitious expansion plans for the American market, with around 700 new stores planned over the next four years.
In a statement, Schultz said: “This strong revenue performance was delivered in a challenging market, particularly through our peak trading period.
“We made important strategic progress: putting the JD Brand First through opening over 200 new JD stores; strengthening our Complementary Concepts through the proposed acquisitions of Courir and, announced after the period end, Hibbett… building the right governance and organisation for a global group of our size; and investing in our people and infrastructure to deliver our growth strategy.
“We have started the new financial year with Q1 in line with our expectations in a volatile market and we are on track to deliver our profit guidance for the full year. Looking further ahead, we have a strong business model and a clear strategy to deliver long-term growth and value creation for our shareholders.”
JD Sports has over 3,337 stores worldwide selling brands including Nike trainers and North Face hiking gear.
