Cautious optimism sums up the outlook for JD Sports Fashion, as the British sports, fashion and outdoor giant raised its 2022 profit forecast on Thursday.
The UK’s largest sportswear retailer continues to lead its sector, and says it now expects profit before tax and exceptional items for the year ending January 29 to be around £940 million (€1096.38 million).
It also estimates that profit for the current financial year (to the end of January 2023) will be at least equal to that result, which is not bad, given the increasing headwinds facing retail.
It also updated its business results for the first 14-week quarter of the new financial year. As of May 7, the company was «reassured» about its year-to-date results, with total comparable sales up more than 5% over the same period last year.
«This performance is a positive reflection of both the strength and breadth of the group’s brand relationships and category offerings,» he said.
It also stressed that the positive results were achieved «against a backdrop of global supply shortages in certain key footwear styles,» although the situation is expected to «progressively improve throughout the year.»
«While we are satisfied with the business performance to date, which is at least in line with the group’s expectations, we remain mindful of the prevailing headwinds at the moment, such as the overall global macroeconomic and geopolitical global situation,» the company specified.
