17th Feb 2022 15:19
(Alliance News) - JD Sports Fashion PLC on Thursday said its annual results will be slightly ahead of previous expectations after strong trading continued into the start of 2022.
However, the athleisurewear retailer said the results for the financial year that ended January 29 will be delayed to give KPMG time to complete its audit and to allow JD Sports to report on the outcome of the divestment of Footasylum Ltd with "greater certainty".
Earlier this week, JD and Footasylum were slapped with fines by the UK Competition & Markets Authority for breaches of an interim order during an in-depth probe into their merger.
JD purchased Footasylum back in March 2019 for GBP90.1 million, and the deal has since been the subject of CMA investigations and orders related to the deal. In November last year, the CMA ordered JD to sell the footwear seller to address concerns about competition and to protect consumers.
JD added: "Further, [the results delay] will also enable the group to complete a review of its governance procedures and policies in light of the ongoing process to divide the current joint role of executive chairman and chief executive officer which the group expects to update on as part of its final results."
Guiding on the actual financial results, JD said it expects full-year headline profit before tax and exceptional items to be at least GBP900 million. This would be more than double the GBP421.3 million achieved in the 2021 financial year, and is up from a prior forecast of GBP875 million.
JD said strong trading across Black Friday and Christmas continued into January, boosting the firm's overall expectations for the year.
Shares in JD were up 0.6% at 167.00 pence in London on Thursday afternoon.
By Lucy Heming; [email protected]
Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
JD Sports