Bodies as august as the Association of British Insurers encouraged shareholders to vote against Sports Direct's (SPD) latest £200m bonus scheme, which was unveiled last month. After personal lobbying, however, founder, majority owner and deputy chairman Mike Ashley won out in the end, with 60 per cent of shareholders voting in favour at a brief meeting on 2 July.
This is ostensibly a victory for Mr Ashley, after two previous attempts were voted down. But it comes with demanding five-year targets - cash profits will have to more than double - and may also leave group chairman Keith Hellawell, remuneration committee chairman Dave Singleton and other directors exposed to a revolt at the annual meeting.
Next week's preliminary results for the year to 27 April may add fuel to the fire, even if a lot of numbers were released in a pre-close statement. Group sales for the nine weeks to 30 March were up 10 per cent, with gross profit up nearly 12 per cent. These growth figures were slightly lower than those reported for the Christmas period, suggesting comparatives are now getting harder. Broker Liberum expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £244m for the year, giving EPS of 29.7p - up 21 per cent in 2012-13.
