JD Sports racing toward £1 billion profit mark as sales grow

The sportswear retailer said its sales jumped by 8% last month despite facing tougher conditions in the US.

Anna Wise
Tuesday 27 June 2023 15:52 BST
JD Sports Fashion has said its sales jumped last month but cautioned over slower trading in North America (Nicholas T Ansell/PA)
JD Sports Fashion has said its sales jumped last month but cautioned over slower trading in North America (Nicholas T Ansell/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

JD Sports Fashion has said its sales jumped last month but cautioned over slower trading in North America, ahead of the group’s annual general meeting (AGM) with shareholders.

The sportswear retailer stood by its outlook for the full year where it expects to notch up a £1 billion profit.

Sales growth slowed to 8% in May, after jumping 15% over the first three months of the year, the company said.

But the year-on-year improvement reflects supply bottlenecks easing, meaning it had more stock to sell.

In more recent weeks, positive trading in the UK, Europe and Asia has been partially offset by weaker sales in North America, amid a sector-wide slowdown across the region, the company cautioned.

JD has been growing rapidly in the US, including adding a flagship store in Chicago, and had 58 net new store openings across Europe such as in Hungary and Greece over the first quarter.

Last month, it shared ambitious growth plans to open up to 350 shops globally each year, focused in North America and continental Europe.

The British firm also eyed up an acquisition last month of France’s sportswear and trainer retailer Courir, for nearly £450 million.

JD said it expects the proposed takeover to formally close later in the year, as it looks to expand further into underrepresented markets.

The retail giant saw its profit shrink by more than £200 million to £441 million last year, including costs from its previous acquisitions.

But markets expect the firm to report a pre-tax profit of £1.04 billion in the year to the end of February 2024, with around 65% of it generated in the second half of the year.

JD was expected to face pressure from shareholders at its AGM on Tuesday to lift its lowest paid workers’ wages in line with inflation, amid cost-of-living pressures.

Some shareholders raised concerns over the re-election of one of the company’s directors at the AGM.

A “significant number” of votes by independent shareholders were cast against Mahbobeh Sabetnia’s reappointment, JD said.

The former Amazon and HSBC executive replaced Heather Jackson as a non-executive director on the board of JD in 2021. She was also the group’s consumer duty director and a member of its remuneration committee.

JD said: “The board takes seriously its responsibilities to represent the interests of shareholders and to uphold the highest standards of corporate governance and it will engage with shareholders over the coming months to understand any ongoing concerns around Mahbobeh Sabetnia’s re-election.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in