There's not a lot to complain about in the latest results from high street retailer JD Sports (JD.). The group reported a massive 11.6 per cent improvement in like-for-like sales for the year ending January 2016. Thanks to stable margins of 48.5 per cent, most of that growth found its way to the bottom line. Operating profit - excluding impairment charges and other one-off costs relating to technology upgrades - rose by a whopping 55 per cent to £159m.
Chief financial officer Brian Small says the rising popularity for wearing athletic apparel as a fashion item has helped drive this recent growth spurt, but he's confident there's more to come. Most of the group's future growth is planned for Europe, with 38 more stores added to the European store estate during the period. The group recently purchased a couple of brands in Netherlands which were on the brink of administration. Following the purchase, JD Sports is now the largest operator in the region, according to management.
Analysts at Investec expect pre-tax profit of £173m for the year ending January 2017, giving EPS of 68.6p, compared with £157m and 61.3p in FY2016.
| JD SPORTS (JD.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,179p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.29bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,179-1,181p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,200p | LOW: 490p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.6% | PE RATIO: | 24 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 197p | NET CASH: | £209m | |
| Year to 30 Jan | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1.06 | 67.4 | 24.1 | 6.33 |
| 2013 | 1.26 | 55.1 | 19.9 | 6.58 |
| 2014 | 1.22 | 76.8 | 29.1 | 6.78 |
| 2015 | 1.52 | 90.5 | 35.2 | 7.05 |
| 2016 | 1.82 | 132 | 50.2 | 7.40 |
| % change | +20 | +45 | +43 | +5 |
Ex-div: 23 Jun Payment: 1 Aug | ||||
