JD Sports has released an upbeat FY2024 trading update confirming strong growth in North America, Europe, and Asia helped by new store openings.
The company said FY24 Profit before Tax and Adjusted Items would fall within the previously guided range of £915-935m. Total FY24 sales grew 3.6% to £10.5bn and JD maintained robust gross margins at 47.3%.
JD Sports opened a total of 215 stores globally in the period boosting organic growth across all geographical segments.
The company saw North American organic sales grow 9.3% over the full year while like-for-like sales increased 2.1% in Q4.
Q4 wasn’t great for the UK and Ireland with like-for-like sales down 3.2%. Organic sales grew 1.5% in the full year.
Trading in southern Europe was strong, helping offset weakness in northern Europe as organic sales surged 15.3% higher over the full-year period.
“In our FY24 financial year, we outperformed the sportswear market, reflecting the strength of our business. We achieved like-for-like sales growth of over 4%, organic growth of over 8% and our athleisure fascias achieved organic growth of over 10%,” said Régis Schultz, CEO of JD Sports Fashion.
“We made good strategic progress, opening 215 new JD stores, and focusing our effort on developing JD and enhancing EPS through taking full control of ISRG and MIG. We expect profit before tax for the year to be in line with the guided range given in January.”
JD Sports has previously missed a self-set £1bn profit before tax target and investors will be disappointment to see group guide for £900-980m profit before tax in 2025.
That said, any form of sales growth in the year ahead given the downbeat economic projections in key markets will be welcomed by investors after years of remarkable growth.
