JD Sports profits drop despite sales hike

JD Sports posted a drop in profits as it ramped up its investment on store expansion and upgraded its technology functions.

Pre-tax profits for the sporting giant fell £96m or 11% to £715m in the 52 weeks to 1 February in part due to higher costs associated with building a cyber security function. When including adjusting items, pre-tax profits slipped 4% to £923m.

Sales jumped 10% to £11.5bn, which it attributed to strong trading discipline in a promotional market. However, UK revenues fell 3.7% to £2.7bn driven by a challenging trading environment and the divestment of non-strategy brands in the year.

During the year, the retail giant completed its acquisition of Hibbett in the US and Courir in Europe which added 1,485 stores across both regions.

The group also opened 223 new JD stores and launched franchised partnerships in South Africa, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Looking ahead, JD Sports said first quarter trading was in line with expectations with organic sales up 3.1% in the 13 weeks to 3 May. UK revenues edged up 2%.

JD Sports chief executive Régis Schultz said: “In April, we announced we were adapting our strategy to reflect slower anticipated market growth and an increased focus on profitability, leveraging the investments we have made to support our growth in the key markets of North America and Europe, delivering strong cash generation and improving returns to our shareholders.

“Our focus on increasing shareholder returns is demonstrated by paying FY25 dividends of £52m, up 11% on the previous period, and after the period end, the commencement of a £100m share buyback programme.

“Overall trading in the first quarter of the new financial year has been in line with our expectations in a volatile market.

“Despite this volatility, and uncertainty surrounding the impact of US tariff changes, we look forward into the medium term with confidence that we can continue to outperform the market, improve our profit margin and create significant value for our shareholders.”

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