11th Jan 2021 08:36
(Alliance News) - JD Sports Fashion PLC on Monday raised its annual profit guidance, and the sportswear retailer said demand during the key festive period was "robust".
JD Sports shares were 4.6% higher at 889.60 pence each in London on Monday morning, the best large-cap performer.
The FTSE 100 firm, hit by store closures due to Covid-19 restrictions, said it expects full-year headline pretax profit of at least GBP400 million, up from the previous forecast of GBP295 million.
This would be down 8.8% from its pretax profit before exceptional items of GBP438.8 million in the financial year that ended February 1, 2020. It would however be a 15% climb from its statutory pretax profit of GBP348.5 million.
JD Sports ends its current financial year on January 30.
The UK tightened Covid-19 restrictions further last week, as it struggles with a new variant of the virus. England entered its third national lockdown, forcing non-essential retailers to close shutters once again.
Over the 22 weeks to January 2, revenue in JD's like-for-like businesses were 5% higher annually, helped in part by consumers "readily" switching between bricks and mortar and digital channels amid the closures.
"Against a backdrop of further forced temporary store closures in many of our global territories, it is pleasing to report that demand has remained robust throughout the second half, including in the key months of November and December," JD added.
"Looking ahead, it is clear that operational restrictions from the Covid-19 pandemic will also be a material factor through at least the first quarter of the year to 29 January 2022. Whilst we are confident that we have the proposition to continue to attract consumers throughout this period, the process to scale down activity in stores and scale up the digital channels, often at extremely short notice, presents significant challenges."
JD added: "Given the ongoing uncertain outlook with stores in the UK likely to be closed until at least Easter and closures in other countries possible at any time, our current best estimate is that the group headline profit before tax for the full year to 29 January 2022 will be 5% to 10% ahead of the current year."
The company will post its annual results on April 13.
By Eric Cunha; [email protected]
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