It will come as no surprise that Sports Direct (SPD) has once again beat analyst forecasts and also smashed its underlying cash profit target for the full-year, reporting a 15 per cent rise in earnings to £331m, underpinned by strong sales growth across the board.
But what will come as news is that Sports Direct appears to have made amends with Adidas, following a disagreement over the supply of sponsored football kit. Chief executive Dave Forsey said the two companies had held encouraging talks “at the top level” and that Adidas was “beginning to understand" the efforts Sports Direct was making to spruce up its rather chaotic-looking outlets - the source of the issue with Adidas - including the newly revamped Oxford Street shop. These refurbishments will continue into 2015.
And, asked about chairman Mike Ashley’s decision to pull out of the controversial share option scheme, Mr Forsey said Mr Ashley didn’t want to give staff the impression that he was taking any shares that might have been awarded to them. But anyone expecting to see a dividend payment instead will have been disappointed, as cash will continue to be used to fuel growth.
Liberum expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £300m, up from £249m last year.
| SPORTS DIRECT INTERNATIONAL (SPD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 692p | MARKET VALUE: | £4.1bn | |
| TOUCH: | 691-693p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 924p | LOW: 586p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | 22 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 137p* | NET DEBT: | 27% | |
| Year to 27 Apr | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1.45 | 120 | 15.7 | nil |
| 2011 | 1.60 | 119 | 14.8 | nil |
| 2012 | 1.84 | 151 | 18.7 | nil |
| 2013 | 2.19 | 207 | 26.6 | nil |
| 2014 | 2.71 | 239 | 30.8 | nil |
| % change | +24 | +15 | +16 | - |
Ex-div:na Payment:na *Includes intangible assets of £255m or 43p a share | ||||
