JD Sports pre-tax profits drop 4% to £923m in FY25
However, the retailer saw its revenue increase 10.2% to £11.4bn, with an organic sales growth of 5.8% and like-for-like sales growth of 0.3%
JD Sports has seen its pre-tax profits and adjusting items drop 4% to £923m during the year ended 1 February 2025, due largely to the group’s continued investment in infrastructure, controls and security.
Without adjusting items, profits before tax fell 11.8% to £715m during the financial year.
However, the retailer saw its revenue increase 10.2% to £11.4bn, with an organic sales growth of 5.8% and like-for-like sales growth of 0.3%.
The retailer experienced growth in all regions except the UK, which declined 4.1% to £3.2bn and was impacted by non-core divestments made over the last two years. Europe revenue increased 9.5% to £3.5bn, North America increased by 27% to £3.2bn and Asia Pacific increased 0.4% to £501m.
JD Sports said that retail stores revenue grew by 15.7% to £9bn while online channels declined by 2.9% to £2.2bn, reflecting the continued shift back to pre-pandemic online participation. As a result, stores now represent 79% of revenue while online is 20%.
Category-wise, footwear continued to perform “strongly” with revenue growth of 15.2% to £6.8bn while apparel revenue grew 4.2% to £3.5bn. Accessories revenue grew by 4.8% to £702m.
During the year, the group completed the acquisition of Hibbett in July 2024, which contributed to the growth of the brand in North America, and Courir in November 2024, which brought 306 stores across six European countries including its home market in France.
The sportswear retailer opened 48 new stores during the period, finishing the year with a total of 4,850 stores worldwide, due mainly to the acquisitions of Hibbett and Courir. In the UK, the group opened three new stores.
In the 13 weeks to 3 May, JD Sports achieved an organic sales growth of 3.1% while LFL sales declined 2%, which remains in line with the group’s expectations for the quarter.
Régis Schultz, CEO of JD Sports Fashion Plc, said: “In April, we announced we were adapting our strategy to reflect slower anticipated market growth and an increased focus on profitability, leveraging the investments we have made to support our growth in the key markets of North America and Europe, delivering strong cash generation and improving returns to our shareholders.
“Overall trading in the first quarter of the new financial year has been in line with our expectations of a volatile market. Despite this volatility, and uncertainty surrounding the impact of US tariff changes, we look forward into the medium term with confidence that we can continue to outperform the market, improve our profit margin and create significant value for our shareholders.”
