The British trading group JD Sports Fashion PLC announced its results for the first half of the 2025/26 financial year on Wednesday.
The total turnover was therefore £ 5.94 billion (around 7.01 billion euros), which corresponds to an increase of 18 percent compared to the previous year. Adjusted to change course changes, the proceeds increased by 20 percent.
The strong growth was mainly due to the takeovers of the HIBBED and COURIR retail chains. Organic sales growth that excludes these acquisitions was 2.7 percent.
Nevertheless, the profit fell by 13.5 percent to 351 million pounds (around 414.18 million euros). The gross margin of the JD Group shrank by 60 basis points to 48 percent. According to the group, this was mainly due to “controlled price investments” in the online offers. However, the proven profit before tax rose by 9.5 percent to 138 million British pounds (around 162.84 million euros).
CEO Régis Schultz explained that the group of companies could win market shares in North America and Europe despite a difficult consumer area. “The shops in North America develop well what shows in the market shares and growing brand awareness,” he said in a statement. The integration of acquisitions such as the hibbed and Courir run according to schedule and strengthen the company’s presence in these key markets. Schultz also emphasized that the JD Group invests considerably in its global supply chain. New sales centers in Europe and the USA are to be put into operation in the coming months.
Sales in North America improves, Great Britain has a decline
Depending on the region and product category, the company’s results were different. The shoe sales were weaker worldwide, which, according to the group, is due to a “persistent shift in the product cycle”. However, the global clothing proceeds showed a “good performance on a comparable basis”. The online sales, which make up 19 percent of the group sales, developed regionally. While significantly improved results were achieved in North America, there was a decline in Great Britain compared to the same period last year.
In North America, the group achieved organic sales growth by 3.1 percent. In addition, 31 new openings of JD branches and the development of the supplementary sales lines such as DTLR, Hibbed and Shoe Palace contributed to the company’s largest market.
In Europe, organic sales increased by six percent, which was also due to the opening of 44 new JD branches. The focus was on Spain, Italy, France and Poland. In the first half of the organic sales in Great Britain fell by 1.7 percent in the first half of the year. There, the strong comparative figures from the second quarter of the previous year were noticeable, which had been achieved at the time due to the European Football Championship in 2024.
JD has opened four new flagship stores in Las Vegas, Vancouver, Melbourne and the world’s largest JD in Trafford Center in Manchester in recent months. According to the company, the latter has delivered strong results since its opening in June. At the end of the first half of the year on August 2, the group was represented in 36 countries with 4,872 shops of its various sales lines, including JD, Hibbett, Shoe Palace, DTLR, Courir, Sport Zone and Sprinter.
JD delays cautious forecast
With a view to the coming months, the JD Group was careful due to the business environment in the second half of the year. As reasons, the company led the continued pressure on the finances of consumers: inside and the progressive change in the product cycle for shoes. However, the company expects that the adjusted input tax will meet the current market expectations of £ 878 million (around 1.04 billion euros) for the overall year.
The company also expects that the financial effects of the new US tariffs will be limited in the current financial year. This is due to a diversified procurement strategy and stocks that were acquired before the introduction of the tariffs.
The Board of Directors decided on an intermediate dividend of 0.33 Pence per share, which corresponds to the previous year’s level. In addition, the JD Group will start a second share buyback program of £ 100 million (around 118 million euros). This amounts to the total volume of the return purchases to 200 million British pounds (around 236 million euros).
This article was used with digital tools translated.
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