JD Sports shares were weaker on Tuesday after the sportswear giant said they saw a ‘moderation in the growth’ as trade normalised.
The company said they were experiencing softening in their North American business after a period of strong growth. The North American business accounted for 31% of group revenue in the 2023 full year.
JD Sports are still confident of achieving headline profit before tax of £1.04 billion in the full year to 3rd February 2024.
While the market was disappointed with the moderation of growth rates, the company continues laying the foundations for future growth with 32 net new JD stores in the first four months of the year and is on track for 150 new stores for the full year.
“JD Sports has put in a solid performance showing the benefit of having a big footprint in diverse geographies. Although its US earnings veered off track in June, revenues ran ahead of expectations in other markets,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“A moderating of sales in May in all regions was expected with sales slowing to 8% but it means the group is still on track to meet its full year profits expectations. Brand power is still a powerful force, and even as belts are tightened elsewhere, the desire for the latest must-have trainers or kit isn’t showing signs of slowing down dramatically.”
JD Sports shares were trading down around 5% at the time of writing.