Yahoo Finance FTSE 100: JD Sports expects £1bn profit on robust recovery and rising sales
JD Sports (JD.L) expects to post pre-tax profits near the top end of expectations after it recorded a Christmas sales surge.
The Manchester-based firm said that “post-Christmas sale period” in January will see pre-tax profits of over £1bn ($1.2bn), with sales of trainers such as Nike Air Force One (NKE) shoes booming.
Sales at JD Sports over Christmas rose 20% as both physical stores and online sales did well.
The sports apparel company is set to beat market estimates, which range from £933m to £985m, for the year ending for the year ending 3 February 2023.
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New JD Sports chief executive Régis Schultz was upbeat about the company's performance, particularly in Europe.
“It is incredible to see the success of JD all over Europe," he said. "We are bigger in Europe than in the UK.
"The brand is generating a lot of good things outside of the UK.”
The sportswear retailer delivered a robust trading update on Wednesday, where it stated that a strong performance in the second half of 2022 will see it achieve its financial goals.
Revenue grew more than 10% in the 22 week period to 31 December 2022. This was compared with a growth of 5% over the first half of its financial year.
JD Sports said: "We are very encouraged by the performance of our global premium sports fascias.
"Notably, our businesses in North America have, as expected, recovered strongly delivering growth of more than 20% through the second half to date.
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"This reflects both the improved availability of product in all of our banners and the positive momentum in the development of the JD fascia with 134 stores now trading as JD across the United States and Canada."
The firm said the strong financial results show the “ongoing resilience” of its “proposition” and the “enduring strength” of its “multi-channel consumer engagement”.
JD added that its “attention-grabbing theatre in stores, advanced digital technologies, breadth in the range of brands and availability of key styles” were key to its future growth.
“Management firmly believe that the most significant opportunities lie in the continued international multi-channel development of the Group’s sports fashion businesses,” JD Sports said.
