JD Sports says it is still battling a “challenging” market with “elevated promotional activity” by rivals.
The retailer, styled as the king of trainers and certainly one of the few high street princes of the last few years, suffered a profit warning in January but seems to be back on track.
CEO Régis Schultz said: “We anticipate trading conditions will improve as we move through the year, helped by a busy sporting summer and softer comparatives with last year.”
Profits for the year will be within the £915 million to £935 million that it has already guided the City towards, someway short of the £1 billion figure some had hoped for.
Sales for the year were up 3.6% to £10.5 billion,
Unlike rivals who are closing stories, JD opened 215 new ones this year.
John Coldham, co-head of the retail sector at Gowling WLG, said:
“The company's global strategy demonstrates its growth ambitions, having recently signed a franchise agreement with Foschini Retail in South Africa to launch the JD brand there, while it is targeting other markets that are relatively underpenetrated for sports fashion. This international expansion will help to diversify the business' revenue streams and boost its resilience when faced with struggling performances in certain locations.”
JD has benefitted from having a young customer base less likely to be burdened by rising mortgage and household bills. The shares rose 7p to 123p which leaves the business valued at £6.4 billion.
Coldham added: "Shareholders should be given confidence by inflation starting to ease and the company putting its best foot forward in the run-up to Summer. The natural increase in consumer demand for sportswear as more people engage in outdoor activities as the weather improves should help to drives sales and profitability."
