JD Sports falls on the stock market after the announcement of its annual results

British sportswear chain JD Sports Fashion almost tripled its net profit in one year in 2023/24, but its share value fell amid a market described as difficult and a result, excluding exceptional items, decreasing.

Group net profit was £538.8 million, on revenue up 2.7% to almost £10.4 billion.

On the other hand, profit after extraordinary items and before tax fell by 8% to £917.2 million.

The first quarter began “in line with estimates in a volatile market and we are on track to realize our full-year profit forecast,” CEO Régis Schultz commented in a statement.

“The results were published later than expected and signal continued market volatility (…) The group also reiterated a profit forecast of between £955m and £1,035m for the current financial year, despite a decline of domestic sales by 6.4% in the first quarter,” comments Guy Lawson-Johns, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

He added that with 200 new stores opening this year and another 200 expected by the end of December, Régis Schultz is “clearly focused on growth.”

However, this approach “does not appear to be done quickly enough, and the billion-dollar acquisition deal for Hibbett should enable the British shoe retailer to accelerate its growth in North America.”

In fact, the clothing chain announced in April the acquisition of its American competitor Hibbett for 1.1 billion dollars.

Lawson-Johns notes, however, that despite the attractiveness of the American market, where spending on sportswear is much higher than in Europe, “the downwardly revised outlook for brands such as Nike and Puma illustrates the continuing difficulties of the sector”.