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JD Sports Fashion PLC on Thursday said its sales have grown in the early weeks of its financial year, shaking off supply chain pressures.
In addition, the company has lifted profit guidance for its financial year which ended on January 29.
Shares in the FTSE 100 listing were 2.6% higher at 121.97 pence each in London on Thursday morning, one of the best large-cap performers.
The athleisure retailer has seen a ‘global shortfall in the supply of certain key footwear styles’. Though it expects this situation to ‘improve progressively’ as the year continues.
In the 14 weeks to May 7, JD Sports like-for-like sales rose 5% year-on-year.
‘This performance is a positive reflection of both the strength and breadth of the group's brand relationships and category offer,’ the company said.
‘Whilst we are pleased with the trading to date, which is at least in line with the group's expectations, we remain conscious of the headwinds that prevail at this time including the general global macro-economic and geopolitical situation.’
For the year ending January 28, 2023, it expects headline pretax profit, before exceptional items, to be ‘at least equal’ to the £940 million it expects to report for the year just ended.
The profit guidance for the recently-ended year has been upped from ‘at least £900 million’ to about £940 million. This would be more than double the £421.3 million achieved in financial 2021.
For the year ending January 28, 2023, JD expects headline pretax profit, before exceptional items, to be ‘at least equal’ to the £940 million it expects to report for the year just ended.
JD Sports added it is still finalising accounts for financial 2022. It expects to be in a position to report annual numbers in ‘early to mid-June’.
The company delayed its annual results in February 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’.
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 £90.1 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.
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