9th Apr 2025 12:25
(Alliance News) - JD Sports Fashion PLC on Wednesday confirmed profit for its recently ended financial year was in line with guidance, while outlining plans for store expansion, reduced capital spending, and a GBP100 million share buyback in financial 2026.
The Bury, Manchester-based athleisure retailer reported organic revenue growth of 5.8% for the year ended February 1, supported by a strong performance in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Pretax profit before adjusting items was within the prior guidance range of GBP915 million to GBP935 million.
Gross margin for the year fell slightly to 48%, down 20 basis points, impacted by acquisitions including US chain Hibbett Inc and French retailer Groupe Courir SAS. JD added 1,533 stores in the year, mostly through those acquisitions, taking its total store count to 4,850.
Like-for-like sales across the group were broadly flat at 0.3%, in line with previous expectations.
Looking to FY26, JD said trading through March has been "in line with expectations" and forecast pretax profit before adjusting items in line with the current consensus of GBP920 million, though this excludes potential impacts from proposed changes to trade tariffs.
The company expects total revenue to grow, driven by acquisitions and 150 new store openings, alongside 100 store conversions and 50 closures, mostly in Eastern Europe. However, like-for-like revenue is expected to come in below FY25 levels.
JD plans to reduce capital expenditures to around GBP500 million in FY26 and expects capex to fall from 5% of revenue to 3% to 3.5% over the medium term.
It also deferred the buyout of the remaining stake in its North American unit Genesis Topco Inc to 2029 and 2030, easing near-term funding requirements.
JD also highlighted its GBP100 million intended share buyback programme.
Shares in JD Sports rose 8.6% to 68.62 pence in London on Wednesday after the company released its trading update at midday.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
JD Sports