The boss of JD Sports said the crowds of shoppers that gathered outside its doors yesterday underlined the role of its stores, despite the rapid shift online during the past year.
Although coronavirus restrictions shutting JD Sports stores for most of 2020, the sports fashion retailer has posted a marginal increase in sales from £6.11 billion to £6.17 billion in the year to January 30 on the back of customers flocking to its website for casual clothes to wear at home.
Pre-tax profits slipped by 8 per cent to £324 million, compared to £355 million a year earlier, while operating profits fell 6 per cent to £482.3 million from £516.9 million.
The business said that it was confident in its position “at the pinnacle of the global sports fashion industry” and said that it estimates profits will be in the range of £475 million and £500 million for the year to end of January 2022.
Shares in JD Sports rose by 5.4p, or 0.59 per cent, to 919p in morning trading, valuing the retailer at £9.52 billion.
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Peter Cowgill, executive chairman, said that despite the decline of footfall into many city centres, like-for-like sales still grew by 4 per cent during its third quarter, a brief window of August and October when its UK business was largely free from restrictions.
Cowgill said that when its 400 UK shops were allowed to reopen yesterday “customers had come back in droves, because of natural forces and the frustrations of the last 12 months. We are one of the most attractive fascias on the high street and we intend to capitalise on that, because if you are into sports leisure and you don’t come to our store you’re missing a trick”.
On the back of the strong results, JD Sports is resuming dividend payments with a 1.44p-a-share final payout. The move, which underlines its status as a pandemic winner, is likely to lead to pressure on the retailer to hand back government support but Cowgill said “it is not our intention to repay anything.”
The retail boss defended the decision to not hand back business rates relief and furlough support. “I have been quite upset about the discrimination that has taken place between ‘non-essential’ retail [restrictions] because it seemed a cookie-cutter approach and we needed the rates relief because our stores were closed. And furlough did what it said on the tin and helped us retain thousands of jobs.”
JD Sports had one blackspot on its accounts from a £55.6 million writedown on the value of Footasylum, the smaller trainer retail rival it bought two years ago for £90 million and which is being re-evaluated by the competition watchdog, after its decision to block the deal was overturned at appeal.
