JD Sports shares pop as firm raises profit outlook
Sportswear giant JD Sports saw its shares rise 4.6 per cent this morning after the firm announced that full-year profit would “significantly ahead” of estimates.
In a trading update, the FTSE 100 firm said that “robust” sales during the pandemic would see it come in ahead of the £295m forecast.
That’s despite the fact the retailer has had to close its stores on a temporary basis due to the new coronavirus restrictions.
The company said total revenue for the 22 weeks to January was more than 5.0 per cent ahead from a year earlier.
It added that the outturn for the full year is expected to be at least £400m.
Commenting on the update, AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: “This morning’s update from JD Sports does not read like there is a global pandemic going on.
“It grew like-for-like sales materially in the period encompassing Christmas. To guide for profit ahead of expectations despite the massive disruption resulting from Covid is a mammoth achievement.
“It also demonstrates the fact that retail spending itself has held up reasonably well despite the crisis – it’s just that sales have shifted from physical stores to the internet.”
He added that JD Sports’ focus on “athleisure” had played especially well with its young target base.
The firm added that profit for the next financial year would be 5-10 per cent ahead of 2021 – with the caveat of the possibility of further disruption.