JD Sports Fashion, the sportswear retailer, has announced a moderate increase of 2.4 per cent in their underlying sales for the second quarter, marking an improvement on their first quarter results. However, owing to the volatile nature of the overall market, they remain guarded about their predictions for the remainder of the year.
Thursday saw the FTSE 100-listed entity, a purveyor of notable sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas, On, and HOKA, maintain its forecast for pre-tax and adjusting item profits between £955 million (€1.1 billion) and £1.035 billion (€1.22 billion) for the complete 2024/25 financial year. This projection marks an increase from the £917.2 million previously gained in 2023/24 year.
The worldwide sports fashion sector is currently experiencing a deceleration in growth this year, compounded by a surge in market promotional activities. Despite being the largest sportswear brand globally in terms of revenue, Nike issued a warning in June forecasting a decline in their sales for this year, whilst their major competitor Adidas has managed to weather the storm more effectively.
The year has seen a considerable 23 per cent depreciation in JD Sports’ shares, echoing a decline in profits announced in January and a dip in Nike’s performance. Also contributing to this has been some ambiguous bid speculation surrounding the retailer. The firm, which operates 27 stores in the Republic, noted a marginal decline in like-for-like UK sales by 0.8 per cent in the 13 weeks leading up to August 3rd, during its fiscal second quarter. The first quarter had witnessed a more severe fall of 6.4 per cent.
However, North America experienced a 5.7 per cent upswing, with Europe showing a three per cent rise and Asia-Pacific seeing a 0.1 per cent increase in like-for-like sales. Much of their improvement from quarter to quarter can be attributed to their multifaceted brand operation model and more favourable comparisons with the previous year, according to a statement made by the group.
This trading period incorporated significant sporting events such as the Euro 2024 football championship and the commencement of the Paris Olympics.
JD issued a cautionary note on the erratic global macro environment, stating that they would be maintaining their cautious stance for the rest of the year, as reported by Reuters.
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