Final Results

RNS Number : 5532M

Sports Direct International Plc

17 July 2014

 



17 July 2014

Preliminary Results for the Year ended 27 April 2014

Group Revenues up 23.8%, Group Underlying EBITDA up 15.0%

	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013
	£m	£m
Group revenue	2,706	2,186	23.8%
Sports Retail (1)	2,274	1,833	24.1%
Premium Lifestyle(2)	214	143	49.4%
Brands	218	209	4.1%
Group gross margin	42.7%	40.9%	180 bps
Sports Retail gross margin	42.9%	40.3%	260 bps
Underlying EBITDA (pre share scheme costs)	331.1	287.9	15.0%
Underlying profit before tax (PBT) (3)	249.3	208.1	19.8%
Reported profit before tax	239.5	207.2	15.6%
Underlying earnings per share (EPS) (3)	32.1p	26.9p	19.3%
Reported earnings per share	30.8p	26.6p	15.6%
Net debt	212.0	154.0	37.7%

Key highlights

·     Sports Retail like-for-like stores gross contribution increased by 10.5% (FY13: 10.6%)

·     Accelerated European expansion including acquisitions in Austria and the Baltic region⁽⁴⁾

·     Growth in online revenue of 26.8% - now representing 17.1% of all Sports Retail sales (FY13: 15.0%)⁽⁵⁾

·     Reported profit before tax up 15.6% to £239.5m (FY13: £207.2m)

·     Underlying free cash generation of £277.2m⁽⁶⁾

·     84 new license agreements signed with contracted values of $51m over the life of the agreements

·     Second and final part of 2009 Employee Bonus Share Scheme vested in August 2013

·     Continued investment in inventory and strategic acquisitions whilst maintaining a strong balance sheet

Dave Forsey, Chief Executive, said:

"We have delivered another record year of out-performance especially within our Sports Retail division. This success is underpinned by our core strategy, offering our customers a wide range of products which represent exceptional quality and unbeatable value.

"Through both individual hard work and operating as a team, against a particularly tough comparative which included the UEFA European Championships and the 2012 London Olympics, we have significantly out-performed the third underlying EBITDA target of £260m set under the 2011 Employee Bonus Share Scheme. This means that the Group has now successfully met the first three targets and the Board is very confident of achieving the final target of £300m under the 2011 Employee Bonus Share Scheme.

"Overall trading since the year end has been in line with management's expectations with some stronger weeks offset by England's disappointing World Cup matches. Consistent with previous guidance, we continue to target underlying EBITDA (before share scheme costs) of £360m for the current period."

(1)	Includes Wholesale and Other revenue, previously only included in Group revenue
(2)	FY13 comparative figures include Republic, previously only included in Group revenue
(3)	Underlying profit before taxation and underlying EPS also exclude profits/losses relating to the IAS 39 fair value adjustment on forward currency contracts in financing income/costs, but includes the Employee Bonus Share Schemes' charge.
(4)	At 27 April 2014, International Retail traded from 19 countries across Europe (2013: 12) including acquisitions and new store openings
(5)	Excludes wholesales sales and sales in EAG and SIG. Including EAG and SIG sales, online revenue represents 15.1% of Sports Retail sales)
(6)	Underlying free cash generation is defined as operating cash flow before working capital, made up of underlying EBITDA before Employee Bonus Share Scheme costs, plus realised foreign exchange gains and losses, less corporation tax paid.

Sports Direct International plc Dave Forsey, Chief Executive Jeff Blue, Director, Strategic Development	T:  0845 129 9200
Powerscourt Rory Godson Victoria Palmer-Moore Greg Lawless	T:  0207 250 1446

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

I am delighted to report the Group exceeded its targets for another year. We have maintained our position as the number one sports retailer in the UK while reinforcing our status as the Consumers' Champion, as demonstrated by our wide product range and value for money offering.

The Group's strategy of international expansion remains on course, with the acquisition of Eybl and Sports Experts AG (EAG) in Austria, and Sportland International Group (SIG) in the Baltic region.

I am also pleased to confirm that the expansion of the Shirebrook Sports Direct store is now complete, including the addition of a c. 9,000 sq. ft. dedicated Nike area and the opening of a USC store alongside. We will shortly commence work on Phase three of our Shirebrook campus expansion; the construction of an additional c. 600,000 sq. ft. warehouse and office extension which will be pivotal in facilitating our ambitious plans for growth.

I note also that the Group has recently signed a new £688m committed, unsecured revolving credit facility which will remain in place until September 2018, providing a strong foundation on which to deliver our growth plans over the next four years.

Employee Bonus Share Scheme

The Group's Employee Bonus Share Schemes are some of the most wide-reaching and generous share schemes in the UK. The adoption of such schemes has proven highly effective at both motivating and remunerating our colleagues, and the performance of the Group has gone from strength to strength since the initial scheme was first approved by shareholders in September 2009.

The second and final award under the 2009 Employee Bonus Share Scheme vested in August 2013, with over 19 million shares being distributed to a deserving c. 2,000 employees. The high level of rewards for eligible participants has also proven key to employee retention, and we credit a great deal of our continued success to our loyal workforce.

The motivation and retention of our key employees has also contributed substantially towards the Group significantly out-performing the 2011 Employee Bonus Share Scheme underlying EBITDA (before scheme costs) targets for FY12, FY13 and FY14. I am convinced that the Group has the right team in place to achieve the FY15 EBITDA target, and I look forward to seeing the scheme vest in both 2015 and 2017.

The Group recently proposed a 2015 Bonus Share Scheme to its shareholders under which employees and the executive directors would be eligible to participate subject to the achievement of EBITDA targets for the years FY16 to FY19. I am pleased to note that the new scheme was approved at a General Meeting on 2 July 2014.

On behalf of the entire Board, I would like to thank shareholders for their support and participation in this process.  Sports Direct's Employee Bonus Share Schemes are some of the most successful employee reward schemes in the UK. The success of these schemes is demonstrated by the substantial shareholder value created over the last five years.

The Board

During the year Bob Mellors, the Group Finance Director, retired. His dedication and commitment to the Group cannot be understated and we wish him well in his retirement. The recruitment of a replacement is on-going.

We are interviewing internal and external candidates to ensure that the new post holder displays the qualities required by a FTSE 100 company. We are aware of Lord Davies' target of achieving Board diversity by ensuring a minimum of 25% of the Board are female by 2015. However any appointment will be based on the skills and expertise of the individual. The Board are still giving consideration to how the 25% target will be met.

Website

During the year significant time has been spent on updating the Group's corporate website. The updated site was launched during December 2013 and is easy to navigate for both potential investors and current shareholders alike. New features to the site include interactive share price charts, brands footage and alerts to subscribers following Group announcements. The site also incorporates links to additional resources such as our online store and careers site.

Dividend
Consistent with the recent practice, the Board has decided not to propose a dividend in relation to FY14. The Board remains of the opinion that it is in the best interests of the Group and its shareholders to preserve financial flexibility, facilitating the pursuit of potential acquisition and other growth opportunities. The payment of dividends remains under review in future years.

Conclusion
The Board and I would like to show our gratitude to our employees for the enormous contribution they have made during the year. Our results reflect their very hard work and dedication which should never be taken for granted. I look to the year ahead with optimism. Despite the difficult financial circumstances many of our customers find themselves in we believe our compelling value proposition will allow us to achieve continued success.

Dr. Keith Hellawell. QPM
Non-Executive Chairman

17 July 2014

chief executive's report and business review

Summary of Results

	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013	Change
	(£m)	(£m)	%
Revenue	2,706.0	2,185.6	23.8
Underlying EBITDA	331.1	287.9	15.0
Underlying profit before tax	249.3	208.1	19.8
Reported profit before tax	239.5	207.2	15.6
	Pence per share	Pence per share
Reported EPS	30.8	26.6	15.6
Underlying EPS	32.1	26.9	19.3

The Directors believe that underlying EBITDA, underlying profit before tax and underlying earnings per share provide more useful information for shareholders on the underlying performance of the business than the reported numbers and are consistent with how business performance is measured internally. They are not recognised profit measures under IFRS and may not be directly comparable with "adjusted" profit measures used by other companies.

EBITDA is earnings before investment income, finance income and finance costs, tax, depreciation and amortisation and, therefore, includes the Group's share of profit from associated undertakings and joint ventures. Underlying EBITDA is calculated as EBITDA before the impact of foreign exchange, any exceptional or other non-trading items and costs relating to the Employee Bonus Share Schemes.

Overview of financial performance

I am pleased to report a further year of strong revenue and profit growth for Sports Direct. The results for the year are even more impressive given that the prior year included the UEFA European Championships and the 2012 London Olympics, and have been achieved in a retail environment that remains challenging. The Group has grown consistently, and the resilience and flexibility of our business model continues to allow us to offer an unrivalled product range, offering exceptional quality and unbeatable value. We will continue to be the Consumers' Champion.

Building on our strategy of broadening our customer base through expansion, during the year we have opened c. 300,000 net sq. ft. of additional retail space across the UK, re-fitting a further 300,000 sq. ft. In Europe we have opened c. 200,000 net sq. ft. of retail space in our existing business and have acquired a further c. 1.9 million sq. ft. with our acquisitions in Austria and the Baltics.

The out-performance that we have achieved over recent years truly serves to demonstrate how successful the Employee Bonus Share Scheme has been in motivating our employees to work towards a shared goal. The 2009 scheme targets were achieved and the shares vested in August 2012 and 2013, with over 2,000 employees receiving life-changing sums as reward for their hard work and dedication to the business over the last five years.

Underlying EBITDA targets under the 2011 Employee Bonus Share Scheme for FY12, FY13 and FY14 have been met. With only one target left to achieve, the scheme is also firmly on course to vest in 2015 and 2017. I am also delighted that, following a General Meeting on 2 July, shareholders have now given approval for a new 2015 Bonus Share Scheme. This will ensure the commitment of our employees for many more years to come.

Group

For the year we increased Group revenue by 23.8% to £2,706.0m. This was primarily due to the Retail division, where we grew revenues by 25.9%, including a 24.1% increase in Sports Retail revenue partly due to the acquisition of EAG in Austria and SIG in the Baltic region. Premium Lifestyle revenue also grew by 49.4%, due largely to the acquisition of Republic in February 2013.

Group gross margin in the year increased by 180 basis points from 40.9% to 42.7%. Sports Retail division gross margin increased by 260 basis points to 42.9% (FY13: 40.3%), while Brands division gross margin decreased to 43.1% (FY13: 44.9%).

Group operating costs increased 35.9% to £826.1m (FY13: £607.9m). Sports Retail and Brands division operating costs were £656.3m (FY13: £479.6m) and £63.1m (FY13: £66.6m), respectively. The increase in Group operating costs is mainly attributable to our recent acquisitions in Austria and the Baltics. Excluding the impact of these acquisitions, Group operating costs increased by 19.7%. Operating costs increased slightly as a percentage of sales from 27.8% in FY13 to 29.7% in FY14, excluding the impact of acquisitions, due to provision reversals in the prior year and the impact of a full year of costs within Republic.

Reflecting the success of our approach - balancing revenues and gross margin, while maintaining a tight focus on operating costs - we grew Group underlying EBITDA (pre-scheme costs) for the year by 15.0% to £331.1m (FY13: £287.9m). Within this underlying EBITDA, we increased the Retail division EBITDA by 15.3% to £300.9m (FY13: £260.9m) while the Brands division EBITDA increased by 11.9% to £30.2m (FY13: £27.0m).

Excluded from underlying EBITDA is an £11.9m (FY13: £22.1m) charge in respect of the 2009 and 2011 Employee Bonus Share Schemes and the Executive Bonus Share Schemes. This charge has been taken centrally and, except in note 4 to the Annual Report, is not reflected in the divisional (Retail and Brands) numbers in this report.

For the year, Group underlying profit before tax increased 19.8% to £249.3m, primarily as a result of the £43.2m increase in EBITDA (pre-scheme costs) and a £10.2m reduction in Employee Bonus Share Scheme charges offset by a £9.3m increase in depreciation and amortisation. Underlying EPS for the year increased by 19.3% to 32.1p (FY13: 26.9p).

Net debt at 27 April 2014 was £212.0m (28 April 2013: £154.0m), which is 0.66 times reported EBITDA (28 April 2013: 0.58 times). Reported EBITDA includes realised foreign exchange gains/losses in selling and administration costs and the Employee Bonus Share Scheme charges.

Review by business segment

	Year ended  27 April 2014 (£m)	Year ended  28 April 2013 (£m)	Change %
Retail
Revenue:
Sports Retail	2,274.4	1,833.3	24.1
Premium Lifestyle (1)	214.1	143.3	49.4
Total retail revenue	2,488.5	1,976.6	25.9
Cost of sales	(1,427.3)	(1,175.6)	21.4
Gross profit	1,061.2	801.0	32.5
Gross margin percentage	42.6	40.5	210 bps

(1)   FY13 Premium Lifestyle revenue re-stated to include Republic revenue (previously included within Wholesale and Other)

	Year ended 27 April 2014 (£m)	Year ended 28 April 2013 (£m)	Change %
Brands
Revenue:
Wholesale	185.2	178.3	3.9
Licensing	32.3	30.7	5.2
Total brands revenue	217.5	209.0	4.1
Cost of sales	(123.8)	(115.2)	7.5
Gross profit	93.7	93.8	-0.1
Gross margin percentage	43.1	44.9	-180 bps

Sports Retail

Sports Retail revenue growth has continued with the acquisition of two international subsidiaries in Austria and the Baltics, as well as further enhancements in our retail and logistics infrastructure.

Sports Retail sales grew 24.1% to £2,274.4m (FY13: £1,833.3m), driven by our recent European acquisitions and strong growth in our existing business. Sports Retail gross margin for the year increased by 260 basis points to 42.9% (FY13: 40.3%).This increase is mainly attributable to on-going investment in our 'better and best' product ranges and the further development of Group Brands.

Sales in the second half of the year were up 25.5% to £1,138.3m (FY13 H2: £907.3m). Gross margins for the second half of the year improved to 42.5% (FY13 H2: 39.7%).

Sports Retail like-for-like gross contribution, which excludes online, increased by 10.5%, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth in this KPI against a tough comparator last year which included the UEFA European Championships and the 2012 London Olympics (FY13: +10.6% / FY12: +0.7% / FY11: +6.8% / FY10: +3.7%). Sports Retail like-for-like contribution is defined as the percentage change in gross contribution in the successive 12-month period. A like-for-like store is one that has been trading for the full 12 months in both periods and has not been affected by a significant change, such as a major refurbishment. The number of stores included in this year's KPI is 339 (FY13: 340).

Sports Retail operating costs increased by 36.8% to £656.3m, including acquisitions (FY13: £479.6m). Excluding the impact of acquisitions, operating costs increased by 16.3% to £557.6m - operating costs in H2 increased by 12.3% to £283.6m (FY13 H2: £252.6m).

Store wages were up 37.5% in the year to £211.4m (FY13: £153.7m) but as a percentage of sales increased only to 9.3% (FY13: 8.4%). Sports Retail premises costs increased by 33.1% to £192.7m (FY13: £144.8m), largely due to a £14.6m reversal of our onerous lease provision in FY13 following the closure of a significant number of unprofitable stores. Excluding the impact of this reversal, premises costs increased by 20.9%. Other operating costs were up 32.8% to £246.6m (FY13: £185.7m), increasing slightly as a percentage of sales to 10.8% (FY13: 10.1%).

The currency impact due to the change in the Euro:Sterling exchange rate was a cost of £5.6m in the current year (FY13: a gain of £4.6m).

Underlying EBITDA for Sports Retail was £321.3m (FY13: £259.9m), an increase of 23.6% for the year (20.2% excluding the impact of acquisitions). This increase was driven by a £236.6m increase in gross profit (including acquisitions), due to the growth in store contribution and online sales, offset by the £176.7m increase in operating costs.

The Group's retail businesses performed strongly in a difficult economic environment. Our retail model, offering outstanding value to our customers, remains resilient, both in the UK and internationally. Throughout the year, we continued to focus on offering our customers the most comprehensive product range, the best availability and value while minimising operating costs as a percentage of gross sales. 

The Group has continued its planned expansion into Europe with the acquisition of two key subsidiaries. In June 2013, the Group acquired a 51% stake in the Sports Eybl & Sports Experts AG (EAG), a leading sports retailer with stores in Austria and Germany. The remaining 49% of the business was subsequently acquired in March 2014. In August 2013, the Group acquired a 60% shareholding in Sportland International Group (SIG), the market leader in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

We have experienced growth in online revenue which has increased by 26.8% from £264.6m to £335.4m in the year. This represented 17.1% of Sports Retail sales (FY13: 15.0%), excluding wholesale sales and sales in EAG and SIG (including EAG and SIG, online revenue represented 15.1% of Sports Retail sales). Online sales to non-UK customers now represent 46.5% of all online Sports Retail sales (FY13: 35.1%) and 48.2% of online contribution (FY13: 33.8%)

Our multi-channel offering remains a strategic focus for the Group. Order fulfilment and information technology solutions are developed in-house with full back-up support from our National Distribution Centre in Shirebrook, Derbyshire. Specific customer landing pages, and 'My Account' pages have now been upgraded and provide an improved customer experience. 401 of the UK store fascia are now branded SPORTSDIRECT.com, an increase of 25 from last year (FY13: 376).

Approximately 25% of visits to Sportsdirect.com are now made via mobile devices. Given the rapid developments in this area, we have updated our mobile site to support multiple language and currency options. Customer satisfaction through a multi-channel offering remains one of our key areas of focus. During FY15 we aim to enhance the customer experience by upgrading our search facility to ensure that the results are as relevant as possible. We are developing additional functionality including Click & Collect, which is expected to be rolled-out in UK Sports Direct stores during Autumn/Winter 2014, online gift cards and the opportunity to open a credit facility.

We are currently in the final design stages for Phase 3 of the development of our National Distribution Centre in Shirebrook, the construction of an additional c. 600,000 sq. ft. warehouse and office facility. Preparation of the site is already in progress, with the aim of commencing works in September 2014, and completion of the project anticipated for late 2015.

Employee training continues to be a major area of investment. During the last year over 50,000 hours were devoted to training and developing our colleagues. Our National Training Facility in Shirebrook is committed to maximising the individual performances of our employees, and to helping others to identify, work towards, and achieve their own distinct career goals.

The National Training Facility is supported by Nike and Puma, who have their own individual environments. This unique training experience is the only centre of its type globally for both Nike and Puma.

Our store portfolio remains constantly under review with the performance of each store and ways of maximising performance being regularly examined. During the year we opened 32 stores in the UK, closing 10 and have opened an additional 15 stores in Europe, closing five. Through acquisitions we also added a further 134 stores ⁽³⁾ in Austria and the Baltics.

We increased our period end square-footage to c. 4.5m sq. ft ⁽¹⁾. (FY13: c. 4.0m) in the UK and c. 3.0m sq. ft. ⁽²⁾ (FY13: c. 1.1m sq. ft.) across the rest of Europe, including an additional 1.9m sq. ft. as a result of acquisitions. We also re-fitted c. 300,000 sq. ft. of our existing retail store space in the UK.

(1)  Due to differing methodologies, this implies a range between 4.25m sq. ft. - 4.75m sq. ft.

(2)  Due to differing methodologies, this implies a range between 2.75m sq. ft - 3.25m sq. ft.

(3)  Store numbers taken at dates of acquisition

During the year, the expansion of the Shirebrook Sports Direct store was also completed. The expanded store includes dedicated Nike and Puma areas as well as enhanced running, outdoor, football and women's fitness areas. Following the success of the Shirebrook store, our Oxford Street store relocated to the former HMV store in May 2014. The continued evolution of the whole estate and in particular, key city centre stores, is vital in building relationships with third party brands and will continue with the re-development of our Glasgow store which is expected to finish in Autumn 2014. In FY15 we are targeting to re-fit c. 400,000 sq. ft. of retail space across the UK.

UK Stores

Store Portfolio	As at 27 April 2014	As at 28 April 2013
Stores at Year End	418	396
Opened	32	37
Closed	10	36
Freehold properties	59	52
SPORTSDIRECT.com fascia	401	376
Other	17	20
Area (sq. ft.)	c.4.5m (1)	c.4.0m

In the 12 months to 27 April 2014, rent reviews have been agreed on 30 stores. The average increase in rent was 0.64% (0.13% annual equivalent). There are currently 41 rent reviews outstanding with a further 54 falling due in FY15. Our lease expiry profile over all leasehold stores (excluding Lillywhites Piccadilly) is now 5.1 years, including 68 stores with contractual expiries or break dates within the next 12 months. This significant amount of flexibility within our portfolio allows us to continue to monitor and adapt our format to the rapidly changing multi-channel environment.

In the current financial year, we are targeting to open between 30 and 40 stores, c. 30% of which are expected to be relocations. In the first quarter we have already opened 10 stores, and have closed five of which four were due to relocations within the same town.

We continue to benefit from the acquisition of the properties purchased from Mike Ashley in 2012, which have resulted in a £9.4m increase to EBITDA when viewed against a proforma comparative.

	FY14 Proforma (£m)	FY14 Inc. acquired MA properties (£m)
Rental charge - 32 stores(1)	(7.6)	-
3rd party rental income	-	1.9
EBITDA Contribution (32 stores)	16.5	25.9

(1)           Assumed rent based on 10% of store turnover

International Stores

Pre-existing Business

Store Portfolio	27 April 2014	28 April 2013
Belgium	44	45
Slovenia	15	15
Portugal	15	15
Poland	7	-
France	6	6
Netherlands	6	6
Cyprus	5	6
Hungary	4	2
Czech Republic	4	2
Slovakia	3	3
Luxembourg	2	2
Spain	1	-
Total	112	102
Note: Excluding Republic of Ireland & Iceland

FY14 Acquisitions

Store Portfolio	27 April 2014
Austria	52
Estonia	36
Latvia	24
Lithuania	20
Germany	3
Total	135

All of the above stores are operated by companies wholly owned by the Group, except Portugal, where the Group owns 50.1% and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania where the Group owns 60.0%. As part of the accelerated growth programme in our European subsidiary, we now have an additional 10 stores in Europe and have entered two new countries (Spain and Poland). Including our recent acquisitions in Austria and the Baltic region, we are now active in 19 countries across Europe (includes associates in the Republic of Ireland and Iceland).

The integration of EAG initially focused on the Sports Expert format, but has now been extended to include the Eybl fascia. Sports Direct point of sale systems are now in all stores with all EAG stock now centrally managed. While the strategic focus to date has been the sell-through of legacy stock, we also intend to rebrand all EAG stores to Sportsdirect.com.

Our strategy remains to identify partners in new territories while continuing to expand our operations in the countries where we currently trade. For FY15, in line with our accelerated European expansion, we are targeting 10-15 organic new stores. In the first quarter, we have opened three stores, closing two.

The Group has a 50% shareholding in the Heatons chain which operates 15 Sports Direct stores in Northern Ireland and 26 sports stores in the Republic of Ireland. We also own a 25% shareholding in the Sports Direct store in Iceland.

Local management continue to work hard to ensure that all new and existing stores in Europe are committed to striving towards the operational efficiencies and standards that exist across our UK sports stores.

Premium Lifestyle

Premium Lifestyle sales grew 49.4% to £214.1m (FY13: £143.3 m), in large part due to the inclusion of a full year's trading in Republic which was acquired in February 2013. Premium Lifestyle gross margin for the year decreased by 350 basis points to 40.3% (FY13: 43.8%) due to the clearance of old stock in the year.

Premium Lifestyle operating costs including Republic increased by 72.9% to £106.7m (FY13: £61.7m). Excluding Republic, operating costs increased by 5.2% to £58.7m (FY13: £55.8m).

Underlying EBITDA for Premium Lifestyle was a loss of £20.4m (FY13: £1.0m profit). This was largely due to significant re-structuring costs within Republic. We are targeting to see the benefit of this re-structuring, along with the impact of the closure of a significant number of loss-making stores in the year, in FY15.

Integration of our Premium Lifestyle division has continued in the year, including IT systems in Flannels, Cruise and Republic, and the relocation of the Flannels head office to our site in Wigan. The previous Republic warehouse and head office has been relocated to the existing USC facilities, and 45 former Republic stores were converted to the USC fascia. Notwithstanding this progress, supply from major third party brands remains very challenging.

The FY13 results included nine months of trading for Flannels and two months for Republic.

Online revenue in the division increased by 57.6% in the year to £37.5m (FY13: £23.8m). During the year the division's eCommerce platforms have been integrated with the Group's IT systems. These now consist of Flannels.com, Cruisefashion.co.uk, and USC.co.uk.

USC online sales increased by 116.5% to £23.6m (FY13: £10.9m) due to improved stock availability and increased brand awareness. The launch of the USC and Flannels mobile platforms, in November 2013, has also contributed towards the increase in online sales in the Premium Lifestyle division.

At the year end, the Premium Lifestyle division traded from 126 stores under five main fascias:

Store Portfolio	As at 27April 2014	As at 28 April 2013
USC	90	40
Republic	-	104
Van Mildert	9	10
Cruise	10	8
Flannels	8	8
Other	9	8
	126	178

Brands

The Group's brand portfolio includes a wide variety of world-famous sport, fashion and lifestyle brands. The Group's Retail division sells products under these Group brands in its stores, and the Brands division exploits the brands through its wholesale and licensing activities. The Brands division continues to sponsor a variety of prestigious events and retains a variety of globally-recognised, high-profile sportsmen and women as brand ambassadors.

Brands division total revenue increased by 4.1% to £217.5m (FY13: £209.0m). Wholesale revenues were up 3.9% to £185.2m (FY13: £178.3m), with continued growth in the key US market which now represents 39.4% of total wholesale revenue.

Brands gross margin decreased by 180 basis points to 43.1% (FY13: 44.9%). Wholesale gross margins fell 220 basis points to 33.2% (FY13: 35.4%) negatively impacted by the loss of Firetrap wholesale income and stock clearance in Gelert, acquired in July 2013. Following the acquisition of the Gelert brand and assets from the administrator the business underwent a complete customer and operational review, resulting in significant cost savings and a more efficient business going forward.

Licensing revenues in the year were up 5.2% to £32.3m (FY13: £30.7m). We signed 84 new licence agreements, covering multiple brands, product categories and geographies, with minimum contracted values of $50.7m over the life of the agreements. At 27 April 2014, the Group has 427 license agreements worldwide, across 273 licensees, with contracted minimums of $309m over the remaining life of the agreements.

Longer term, we still regard licensing as the key driver of Brands division profitability and central to the overall growth of the Brands business. The key growth areas are expected to include Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa and the Americas which should compensate for a more challenging licensing landscape in the UK and Europe, as Sports Retail continues to expand in these territories.

Operating costs decreased by 5.3% to £63.1m (FY13: £66.6m) as we begin to benefit from the consolidation of our back office functions, with both Firetrap and Gelert now fully integrated. The full impact of the consolidation of back office functions across the Brands division is expected to be felt in FY15. As a result of cost savings, underlying EBITDA increased by 11.9% to £30.2m (FY13: £27.0m).

We continue to focus on developing world-class products that are endorsed by leading athletes on the field of play and continue to invest in our key brands.

Outlook

Overall trading since the year end has been in line with management's expectations with some stronger weeks offset by England's disappointing World Cup matches. The Group's performance continues to benefit from a number of factors including the historic investment in gross margin, investment in product range and availability, increased operating efficiencies and the continued optimisation of the Group's in-store and web product offer.

Based on the performance to date, we are very confident of achieving the final EBITDA target of £300m (before share scheme charges) under the 2011 Employee Bonus Share Scheme. Consistent with previous guidance, we continue to target underlying EBITDA of £360m (before the charge for the 2011 Employee and Executive Bonus Share Schemes) for the current period. The Group's success is underpinned by our core strategy, offering our customers a wide range of products which represent exceptional quality and unbeatable value.

Key Performance Indicators

The Board monitors the performance of the Group by reference to a number of key performance indicators (KPIs), which are discussed in this Chief Executive's Report and in the Financial Review. The most important of these KPIs are:

	52 weeks ended 27 April 2014	52 weeks ended 28 April 2013	Pro Forma (2) 52 weeks 2012	53 weeks ended 29 April 2012
Financial KPIs
Group revenue	£2,706.0m	£2,185.6m	£1,807.2m	£1,835.8m
Underlying EBITDA (1)	£331.1m	£287.9m	£235.7m	£240.1m
Sports Retail gross margin	42.9%	40.3%	40.3%	40.3%
Sports Retail like-for-like stores gross contribution (3)	+10.5%	+10.6%	+0.7%	+0.7%
Online revenue as a percentage of total Sports Retail revenue (4)	17.1%	15.0%	11.6%	11.6%
Underlying earnings per share (5)	32.1p	26.9p	18.7p	19.2p
Non-financial KPIs
No. of Sports Retail stores (6)	665	498	483
Employee turnover	19.2%	15.5%	17.0%
Cardboard recycling	9,230 tonnes	8,893 tonnes	6,622 tonnes

⁽¹⁾ The method for calculating underlying EBITDA is is set out in the Financial Review.

⁽²⁾ The FY12 income statement has been restated to provide a 52-week pro-forma set of results.

⁽³⁾ Sports Retail like-for-like contribution is defined as the percentage change in gross contribution in the successive 12 month period. A like-for-like store is one that has been trading for the full 12 months in both periods and has not been affected by a significant change, such as a major refurbishment.

 ⁽⁴⁾ Excludes wholesale revenue and revenue in EAG and SIG. Including revenue in EAG and SIG, online sales represented 15.1% of total sales.

⁽⁵⁾The method for calculating underlying earnings per share is set out in the Financial Review.

⁽⁶⁾Excluding associates.

Employees

The success of the Group has largely been created by our c.28,000 employees, whose dedication and commitment has been sustained over many years. Their enthusiasm and 'one team' attitude has assisted the Group to succeed where many other retailers have failed. The Board are extremely grateful for the time that our employees have taken to develop their skills and expertise. We promote staff training wherever possible to enable our employees to be the best that they can be.

The 2009 and 2011 Employee Bonus Share Schemes have been fundamental tools in the motivation and incentivisation of employees. Under the 2009 Employee Bonus Share Scheme, c. 27 million shares vested with our employees. Subject to achieving the FY15 EBITDA target, and satisfactory personal performance, a further c.20 million shares are expected to vest under the 2011 Employee Bonus Share Scheme.

The 2011 Employee Bonus Share Scheme underlying EBITDA targets (before scheme costs), relate to performance between FY12 and FY15. The FY12 target of £215m, the FY13 target of £250m, and the FY14 target of £260m have all been achieved. The FY15 target is £300m (before scheme costs), and this final target, combined with the individual employee's satisfactory personal performance, must be achieved in order for the scheme to vest.

Shares under the 2011 Employee Bonus Share Scheme are due to vest in 2015 and 2017. Under the 2011 Employee Bonus Share Scheme certain employees are eligible for awards on a pro-rata basis depending on their length of service with the Group. Awards under the 2011 scheme are granted at either 100%, 75%, 50% or 25% of the employees' base pay. Subject to the performance criteria being fulfilled, c.5 million shares are due to vest in 2015 and c.15 million shares are due to vest in 2017.

An additional 3 million shares are due to vest with our Executive Directors and two members of senior management in 2017 under the Executive Bonus Share Scheme, subject to performance criteria being fulfilled. The Executive Bonus Share Scheme performance targets mirror those to be applied to awards under the 2011 Employee Bonus Share Scheme.

As a result of the successes of previous schemes, the 2015 Bonus Share Scheme has been devised to encourage further outstanding employee performance. The scheme will provide for the grant of nil-cost options over up to 25 million shares. The vestings are dependant on particularly stretching performance criteria spanning between FY16 and FY19. With EBITDA targets (before scheme costs) of £480m for FY16, £570m for FY17, £650m for FY18 and £750m for FY19, the scheme has the potential to not only motivate employees, but also to create a further substantial increase in shareholder value.

Our strategy for growth

The Group's strategic focus is to continue to deliver sustainable long-term growth.  

Within the UK Retail business this strategy includes proactive management of our store portfolio to further reduce costs and the on-going development of specialist collaborations such as our successful Running, Outdoor and Fishing concepts. The Group also intends to invest in store refurbishment and merchandising in order to provide our customers with an enhanced consumer experience. The on-going collaboration with Nike, adidas and Puma for our in-store concepts, including the new Oxford Street store, is a further example of this strategy.

Online remains a significant growth opportunity for the Group. Our online business continues to benefit from the Group's brand recognition and investment in online product range and availability. Further opportunities to grow this business include new category landing pages, the development of 'click & collect' functionality, online gift cards and customer credit facilities.

Our international expansion strategy remains focused on Europe. This includes identifying and working with strong local partners, which can assist the Group to expand in new territories, while we continue to expand our operations in those countries where we currently trade. We believe there is a significant opportunity to introduce the key elements of our successful business model across Europe. This strategy includes the introduction of our sourcing, buying and operational expertise in new markets, whilst also leveraging our Group brand portfolio.

In order to re-enforce the heritage and authenticity of its brands, the Brands division will continue to develop core wholesale product for international brands such as Dunlop, Slazenger and Everlast. Going forward, the Brands division will focus on further expansion of its licensing activities in North America and Asia, leveraging the global appeal of leading brands such as Dunlop, Slazenger and Everlast. This will increase the global presence and international appeal of our Group brands.

We believe that acquisitions and strategic investments in related businesses are beneficial to the Group and we will continue to evaluate such opportunities as they arise. The Group maintains significant financial and strategic flexibility in order to ensure that it is able to pursue such opportunities from a position of strength.

Dave Forsey

Chief Executive

17 July 2014

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The financial statements for the Group for the year ended 27 April 2014 are presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the EU.

EBITDA and Profit Before Tax

	EBITDA	PBT
	£m	£m
Operating profit	249.1
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment	64.1
Exceptional items	5.5
Share of profit of associated undertakings (excl. FV adjustments)	2.3
Reported	321.0	239.5
Bonus share scheme	11.9	-
Impairment of fixed assets	-	0.3
Exceptional items	-	5.5
Profit on disposal of investments	-	(5.4)
Realised FX gain	(1.8)	(1.8)
IAS 39 FX fair value adjustment to forward currency contracts	-	11.2
Underlying	331.1	249.3

Underlying 52-week FY14 profit before tax excludes:

(i)         impairments which decreased profit by £0.3m;

(ii)         exceptional items which decreased profit by £5.5m;

(iii)        profit on disposal of investments which increased profit by £5.4m;

(iv)        realised foreign exchange gains which increased profit by £1.8m; and

(v)         IFRS revaluation of foreign currency contracts which decreased profit by £11.2m.

Foreign exchange

The Group manages the impact of currency movements through the use of forward fixed rate currency purchase and sales contracts. The Group's policy is to hold or hedge between zero and five years of anticipated purchases in foreign currency.

The realised exchange gain of £1.8m (FY13: £2.3m) included in administration costs has arisen from:

a) accepting Dollars and Euros at the contracted rate; and

b) the translation of Dollar and Euro denominated assets and liabilities at the period end rate or date of realisation.

The exchange loss of £11.2m (FY13: £2.0m loss) included in finance costs / income substantially represents the reduction in the mark-to-market asset made (under IFRS) for the Group's unhedged forward contracts as at 27 April 2014. A number of the forward contracts outstanding at 27 April 2014 qualify for hedge accounting and the fair value loss on these contracts of £21.6m has been debited to equity through the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income. The Group has sufficient USD/GBP contracts to cover all purchases in UK Retail for FY15 and FY16. These hedged contracts are at an average rate of USD / GBP 1.681.

The Sterling exchange rate with the US dollar was $1.547 at 28 April 2013 and $1.680 at 27 April 2014.

Given the potential impact of commodity prices on raw material costs, the Group may hedge certain input costs, including cotton, crude oil and electricity going forward.

Finance costs

	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013
	(£m)	(£m)
Interest on bank loans and overdrafts	(7.5)	(6.6)
Interest on other loans	(0.6)	(0.6)
Interest on retirement benefit obligations	(0.6)	(0.5)
Fair value adjustment to forward foreign exchange contracts	(11.2)	(2.0)
	(19.9)	(9.7)

The rise in interest payable is a result of the increased use of the revolving credit facility and additional debt inherited from acquired companies. The increase in the use of the revolving credit facility is attributable to the acquisitions during the year and the investment in working capital.

The loss on the fair value of forward foreign exchange contracts arises under IFRS as a result of marking to market at the period end those contracts that do not qualify for hedge accounting.

Exceptional items

	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013
	(£m)	(£m)
Profit on sale of intangible assets	-	0.6
Impairment of assets	(5.5)
	(5.5)	0.6

The impairment relates to assets in a newly acquired entity that were no longer required post acquisition.

Taxation

The effective tax rate on profit before tax in FY14 was 25.0% (FY13: 26.8%). This rate reflects depreciation on non-qualifying assets and overseas earnings being taxed at a higher rate.

Earnings

	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013	Change
	pence per share	pence per share	%
Reported EPS (Basic)	30.8	26.6	15.6
Underlying EPS	32.1	26.9	19.3
Weighted average number of shares (actual)	585,513,537	568,971,942

Basic earnings per share (EPS) is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the actual financial period. Shares held in Treasury and the Employee Benefit Trust are excluded from this figure.

The underlying EPS reflects the underlying performance of the business compared with the prior year and is calculated using the weighted average number of shares. It is not a recognised profit measure under IFRS and may not be directly comparable with "adjusted" profit measures used by other companies.

The items adjusted for arriving at the underlying profit after tax and minority interests is as follows:

	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013
	(£m)	(£m)
Profit after tax	180.2	151.7
Post tax effect of adjustment items:
Profit on disposal of listed investments	(4.0)	-
Impairment of goodwill	0.3	2.2
Fair value adjustment to forward foreign exchange contracts	8.4	1.5
Realised gain on forward foreign exchange contracts	(1.4)	(1.8)
Profit on sale of intangible assets	-	(0.5)
Fair value adjustment within associated undertakings	-	(0.3)
Impairment of fixed assets	4.1	-
Underlying profit after tax	187.6	152.8

Dividends

The Board has decided not to propose a dividend in relation to FY14. The Board feels that it remains in the best interests of the Group to preserve financial flexibility, facilitating the pursuit of potential acquisition and other growth opportunities. The payment of dividends remains under review in future years.

Capital expenditure

During the year, capital expenditure amounted to £69.1m (FY13: £49.8m), which includes expenditure on licences within intangible assets.

Acquisitions

The Group made acquisitions during the year including the purchase of two European subsidiaries based in Austria and the Baltic region.

Strategic investments

During the year the Group disposed of a small number of shares in JD Sports and Fashion plc but at year end continued to hold an 11.81% stake in JD Sports. The fair value of the Group's holding at 27 April 2014 was £104.9m (28 April 2013: £47.6m). During the year, 27,120⁽¹⁾ shares were sold, resulting in a gain on disposal of £0.3m. The movement in the fair value of the shares held has been recognised directly in equity in accordance with IFRS. Following the year end the Group:

i.          entered into a derivatives agreement which gives the counter-party the right to acquire JD Sports shares

      from the Group at a premium to the current market price; and

ii.          sold a further 8,170⁽¹⁾ JD Sports shares.

(1)   References to the number of shares sold are based on the shares outstanding prior to the recent JD Sports shares subdivision.

In January 2014 the Group acquired a 4.6% stake in Debenhams Plc. This stake was subsequently sold at a profit and the Group currently has a beneficial interest in a 6.6% stake in Debenhams via a derivative agreement.

Cash flow and net debt

Net debt increased by £58.0m from £154.0m at 28 April 2013 to £212.0m at 27 April 2014.

The analysis of debt at 27 April 2014 was as follows:

	At 27 April 2014	At 28 April 2013
	(£m)	(£m)
Cash and cash equivalents	151.0	147.4
Borrowings	(363.0)	(301.4)
Net debt	(212.0)	(154.0)

The Group continues to operate comfortably within its banking facilities and covenants. The Group has recently signed a new £688m committed, unsecured revolving credit facility which will remain in place until September 2018.

Cash flow

Total movement is as follows:

	At 27 April 2014	At 28 April 2013
	(£m)	(£m)
Underlying 52 week EBITDA	331.1	287.9
Realised profit on forward foreign exchange contracts	1.8	2.3
Taxes paid	(55.7)	(44.7)
Underlying 52 week free cash flow	277.2	245.5

Invested in:-

Working capital and other	(110.1)	(131.2)
Purchase of own shares	-	(21.7)
Acquisitions (including debt)	(144.2)	(47.0)
Net purchase of investments	(4.6)	1.5
Net capital expenditure	(69.1)	(49.8)
Finance costs and other financing activities	(7.2)	(6.1)

Increase in net debt

(58.0)

(8.8)

The increase in working capital is predominantly in inventory to support the growth of Sports Retail and the online business.

Pensions

The Group operates a number of closed defined benefit schemes in the Dunlop Slazenger companies. The net deficit in these schemes decreased from £19.9m at 28 April 2013 to £15.4m at 27 April 2014.

Dave Forsey

Chief Executive

17 July 2014

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 27 APRIL 2014

		Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013 (restated)1
	Notes	£'000	£'000
Revenue	2	2,705,958	2,185,580
Cost of sales		(1,551,036)	(1,290,822)
Gross profit		1,154,922	894,758
Selling, distribution and administrative expenses		(908,843)	(689,578)
Other operating income		8,583	7,199
Exceptional items	3	(5,531)	625
Operating profit	2	249,131	213,004
Other investment income		7,017	1,473
Finance income		891	1,117
Finance costs		(19,853)	(9,688)
Share of profit of associated undertakings and joint ventures		2,266	1,320
Profit before taxation		239,452	207,226
Taxation	4	(59,839)	(55,569)
Profit for the period	2	179,613	151,657
Attributable to:
Equity holders of the Group		180,245	151,596
Non-controlling interest		(632)	61
Profit for the period	2	179,613	151,657

Earnings per share attributable to the equity shareholders

					Pence per share	Pence per share
Basic earnings per share	5			30.8		26.6
Diluted earnings per share	5			29.2		24.4
Underlying basic earnings per share	5			32.1		26.9

1. Restatement relates to the adoption of IAS 19 ' Employee Benefits'.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR ENDED 27 APRIL 2014

		Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013 (restated)1
	Notes	£'000	£'000
Profit for the period	2	179,613	151,657
Other comprehensive income
Items that will not be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss
Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined benefit pension schemes		3,860	(2,818)
Taxation on items recognised in other comprehensive income		(698)	-
Items that will be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations		(33,118)	12,436
Exchange differences on hedged contracts - recognised in the period		(3,737)	15,408
Exchange differences on hedged contracts - reclassified and reported in net profit		(17,909)	196
Fair value adjustment in respect of available-for-sale financial assets		57,373	1,011
Taxation on items recognised in other comprehensive income		(4,170)	4,636
Other comprehensive income for the period, net of tax		1,601	30,869
Total comprehensive income for the period		181,214	182,526
Attributable to:
Equity holders of the Group		181,846	182,465
Non-controlling interest		(632)	61
		181,214	182,526

1. Restatement relates to the adoption of IAS 19 ' Employee Benefits'.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AS AT 27 APRIL 2014

		27 April 2014	28 April 2013
	Notes	£'000	£'000
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment		412,361	332,036
Intangible assets		255,109	240,420
Investments in associated undertakings and joint ventures		41,763	32,117
Available-for-sale financial assets		116,504	47,645
Deferred tax assets		31,130	47,952
		856,867	700,170
Current assets
Inventories		565,479	446,962
Trade and other receivables		123,014	96,111
Derivative financial assets		4,355	17,965
Cash and cash equivalents		151,024	147,375
		843,872	708,413
TOTAL ASSETS		1,700,739	1,408,583
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Share capital		64,060	64,060
Share premium		874,300	874,300
Treasury shares reserve		(56,234)	(56,234)
Permanent contribution to capital		50	50
Capital redemption reserve		8,005	8,005
Foreign currency translation reserve		5,280	38,398
Reverse combination reserve		(987,312)	(987,312)
Own share reserve		(13,251)	(64,375)
Hedging reserve		(5,625)	16,021
Retained earnings		931,819	752,018
		821,092	644,931
Non-controlling interests		(3,538)	(254)
Total equity		817,554	644,677
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings	6	6,764	245,627
Retirement benefit obligations		15,350	19,940
Deferred tax liabilities		24,046	24,978
Provisions		37,780	41,072
		83,940	331,617
Current liabilities
Derivative financial liabilities		18,665	-
Trade and other payables		392,019	320,261
Borrowings	6	356,226	55,753
Current tax liabilities		32,335	56,275
		799,245	432,289
Total liabilities		883,185	763,906
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES		1,700,739	1,408,583

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 27 APRIL 2014

		Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013
	Notes	£'000	£'000
Cash inflow from operating activities	7	222,785	159,094
Income taxes paid		(55,730)	(44,673)
Net cash inflow from operating activities		167,055	114,421
Cash flow from investing activities
Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment		-	79
Proceeds on disposal of listed investments		49,394	-
Proceeds on disposal of intangible assets		-	625
Purchase of associate, net of cash acquired		(8,000)	(96)
Purchase of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired		(15,407)	(46,941)
Purchase of intangible assets		(1,827)	(2,282)
Purchase of property, plant and equipment		(67,304)	(48,247)
Purchase of listed investments		(55,467)	-
Investment income received		1,604	1,473
Finance income received		891	1,117
Net cash outflow from investing activities		(96,116)	(94,272)
Cash flow from financing activities
Finance costs paid		(8,111)	(7,196)
Borrowings drawn down		300,910	404,970
Borrowings repaid		(348,452)	(323,942)
Exercise of option over non-controlling interests		(11,678)	-
Purchase of own shares		-	(21,742)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities		(67,331)	52,090
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents including overdrafts		3,608	72,239
Cash and cash equivalents including overdrafts at beginning of period		141,674	69,435
Cash and cash equivalents including overdrafts at the period end		145,282	141,674

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 27 APRIL 2014

	Treasury shares	Foreign currency translation	Own share reserve	Retained earnings	Other reserves	Sub-total	Non-controlling interests	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 29 April 2012	(55,839)	25,962	(57,684)	600,431	(40,480)	472,390	(505)	471,885
Credit to equity for share - based payment	-	-	-	4,012	-	4,012	-	4,012
Vesting of share - based payments	-	-	14,656	(16,728)	-	(2,072)	-	(2,072)
Current tax on share schemes	-	-	-	3,581	-	3,581	-	3,581
Deferred tax on share schemes	-	-	-	6,297	-	6,297	-	6,297
Cost of shares acquired	(395)	-	-	-	-	(395)	-	(395)
Purchase of own shares	-	-	(21,347)	-	-	(21,347)	-	(21,347)
Non-controlling interests - acquisitions	-	-	-	-	-	-	190	190
Transactions with owners	(395)	-	(6,691)	(2,838)	-	(9,924)	190	(9,734)
Profit for the financial period	-	-	-	151,596	-	151,596	61	151,657
Other comprehensive income
Cash flow hedges
- recognised in the period	-	-	-	-	15,408	15,408	-	15,408
- reclassified and reported in net profit	-	-	-	-	196	196	-	196
Actuarial losses on defined benefit pension schemes	-	-	-	(2,818)	-	(2,818)	-	(2,818)
Fair value adjustment in respect of available-for-sale financial assets	-	-	-	1,011	-	1,011	-	1,011
Taxation	-	-	-	4,636	-	4,636	-	4,636
Translation differences - Group	-	11,135	-	-	-	11,135	-	11,135
Translation differences - associates	-	1,301	-	-	-	1,301	-	1,301
Total comprehensive income for the period	-	12,436	-	154,425	15,604	182,465	61	182,526
At 28 April 2013	(56,234)	38,398	(64,375)	752,018	(24,876)	644,931	(254)	644,677
Vesting of share - based payments	-	-	51,124	(51,124)	-	-	-	-
Current tax on share schemes	-	-	-	25,500	-	25,500	-	25,500
Deferred tax on share schemes	-	-	-	(11,215)	-	(11,215)	-	(11,215)
Non-controlling interests - acquisitions	-	-	-	-	-	-	(10,513)	(10,513)
Exercise of option over non-controlling interest	-	-	-	(19,970)	-	(19,970)	7,861	(12,109)
Transactions with owners	-	-	51,124	(56,809)	-	(5,685)	(2,652)	(8,337)
Profit for the financial period	-	-	-	180,245	-	180,245	(632)	179,613
Other comprehensive income
Cash flow hedges
- recognised in the period	-	-	-	-	(3,737)	(3,737)	-	(3,737)
- reclassified and reported in net profit	-	-	-	-	(17,909)	(17,909)	-	(17,909)
Actuarial losses on defined benefit pension schemes	-	-	-	3,860	-	3,860	-	3,860
Fair value adjustment in respect of available-for-sale financial assets	-	-	-	57,373	-	57,373	-	57,373
Taxation				(4,868)		(4,868)		(4,868)
Translation differences - Group	-	(32,498)	-	-	-	(32,498)	-	(32,498)
Translation differences - associates	-	(620)	-	-	-	(620)	-	(620)
Total comprehensive income for the period	-	(33,118)	-	236,610	(21,646)	181,846	(632)	181,214
At 27 April 2014	(56,234)	5,280	(13,251)	931,819	(46,522)	821,092	(3,538)	817,554

1. Accounting policies

The financial information, which comprises the consolidated income statement, consolidated statement of comprehensive income, consolidated balance sheet, consolidated cash flow statement, consolidated statement of changes in equity and related notes, does not constitute full accounts within the meaning of s435 (1) and (2) of the Companies Act 2006. The auditors have reported on the Group's statutory accounts for the each of the years ended 27 April 2014 and 28 April 2013 which do not contain any statement under s498 of the Companies Act 2006 and are unqualified. The statutory accounts for the year ended 28 April 2013 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and the statutory accounts for the year ended 27 April 2014 will be filed with the registrar in due course.

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted for use in the European Union (including International Accounting Standards ("IAS") and International Financial Reporting Standards Interpretations Committee ("IFRSiC") interpretations) and with those parts of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS as adopted for use in the European Union. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, as modified to include fair valuation of certain financial assets and derivative financial instruments.

IAS19 (revised) 'Employee Benefits' has been adopted in the financial year. The revised standard replaces the expected return on plan assets and the interest cost on liabilities with a net interest expense calculated by applying the discount rate to the net defined benefit asset or liability. In addition, administration costs on pension funds are now recognised in the profit or loss when administration services are performed. The revised standard has retrospective application. The adoption of the revised standard has resulted in the following changes:

Income Statement:

-      Pension interest income decreased by £1.9m;

-      Expected return on plan assets decreased by £1.9m.

Balance sheet:                                      No Impact

Statement of Comprehensive Income:      No impact

2. Segmental analysis

IFRS 8 - 'Operating Segments' requires the Group's segments to be identified on the basis of internal reports about components of the Group that are regularly reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker to assess performance and allocate resources across each operating segment.

The Chief Operating Decision Maker has been identified as the Executive Directors and the operating segments are identified as the store fascia or brand, in line with the internal reporting to the Executive Directors.

Sales and gross profit for each operating segment, as well as underlying EBITDA, are the main measures used by the Executive Directors to assess performance.

In accordance with paragraph 12 of IFRS 8 the Group's operating segments have been aggregated into the following reportable segments:

• Sports Retail - includes the results of the UK and International retail network of sports stores along with related websites;

• Premium Lifestyle - includes the results of the premium retail businesses such as Republic, Cruise and USC; and

• Brands - includes the results of the Group's portfolio of internationally recognised brands such as Everlast, Lonsdale and Dunlop.

The basis of the reportable segments has changed during the year, reflecting changes that have been made to internal reports used to assess performance and allocate resources across each operating segment. UK Sports Retail and International Sports Retail were previously reported as separate segments. These have now been aggregated to form the reportable segment: Sports Retail. The prior year disclosures have been restated to reflect this change. Information regarding the Group's reportable segments for the year ended 27 April 2014, as well as a reconciliation of reported profit for the period to underlying EBITDA, is presented below:

Segmental information for the year ended 27 April 2014:  

	Retail			Brands	Eliminations	Total
	Sports Retail	Premium Lifestyle	Retail Total	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Sales to external customers	2,274,365	214,066	2,488,431	217,527	-	2,705,958
Sales to other segments	203	-	203	29,938	(30,141)	-
Revenue	2,274,568	214,066	2,488,634	247,465	(30,141)	2,705,958
Gross profit	974,952	86,263	1,061,215	93,707	-	1,154,922
Operating profit before foreign exchange and exceptional items	254,736	(25,729)	229,007	23,825	-	252,832
Operating profit	251,762	(25,588)	226,174	22,957	-	249,131
Investment income						7,017
Finance income						891
Finance costs						(19,853)
Share of profits of associated undertakings and joint ventures						2,266
Profit before taxation						239,452
Taxation						(59,839)
Profit for the period						179,613

Sales to other segments are priced at cost plus a 10% mark-up.

Other segment items included in the income statement for the year ended 27 April 2014:

	Retail			Brands	Total
	Sports Retail	Premium Lifestyle	Total	Brands	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Depreciation	50,549	4,689	55,238	1,725	56,963
Amortisation	1,348	687	2,035	4,797	6,832
Impairment	-	-	-	284	284

Information regarding segment assets and liabilities as at 27 April 2014 and capital expenditure for the year then ended: 

		Retail	Brands	Eliminations	Total
	Sports Retail	Premium Lifestyle
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Investments in associated undertakings and joint venture	42,176	-	(413)	-	41,763
Other assets	1,609,024	96,601	183,103	(229,752)	1,658,976
Total assets	1,651,200	96,601	182,690	(229,752)	1,700,739
Total liabilities	(893,269)	(123,554)	(96,114)	229,752	(883,185)
Tangible asset additions	141,328	6,978	2,961	-	151,267
Intangible asset additions	33,912	434	3,011	-	37,357
Total capital expenditure	175,240	7,412	5,972	-	188,624

Segmental information for the year ended 28 April 2013:

	Retail				Brands		Eliminations	Total
	Sports Retail	Premium Lifestyle	Retail Total	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000		£'000		£'000
Sales to external customers	1,833,264	143,321	1,976,585	208,995		-		2,185,580
Sales to other segments	8,288	-	8,288	33,807		(42,095)		-
Revenue	1,841,552	143,321	1,984,873	242,802		(42,095)		2,185,580
Gross profit	738,281	62,655	800,936	93,822		-		894,758
Operating profit before foreign exchange and exceptional items	192,764	(1,059)	191,705	18,291		-		209,996
Operating profit	194,080	(980)	193,100	19,904				213,004
Other investment income								1,473
Finance income								1,117
Finance costs								(9,688)
Share of profits of associated undertakings and joint ventures								1,320
Profit before taxation								207,226
Taxation								(55,569)
Profit for the period								151,657

Sales to other segments are priced at cost plus a 10% mark-up.

Other segment items included in the income statement for the year ended 28 April 2013:

	Retail			Brands	Total
	Sports Retail	Premium Lifestyle	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Depreciation	43,521	1,906	45,427	2,493	47,920
Amortisation	81	113	194	4,482	4,676
Impairment	314	-	314	1,903	2,217

Information regarding segment assets and liabilities as at 28 April 2013 and capital expenditure for the year then ended: 

	Retail		Brands	Eliminations	Total
	Sports Retail	Premium Lifestyle
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Investments in associated undertakings and joint ventures	32,117	-	-		32,117
Other assets	1,181,033	37,266	191,082	(32,915)	1,376,466
Total assets	1,213,150	37,266	191,082	(32,915)	1,408,583
Total liabilities	(651,046)	(43,914)	(101,861)	32,915	(763,906)
Tangible asset additions	52,891	10,284	3,888	-	67,063
Intangible asset additions	1,460	3,447	1,823	-	6,730
Total capital expenditure	54,351	13,731	5,711	-	73,793

Geographic information

Segmental information for the Year ended 27 April 2014:
	UK	Non-UK	Eliminations	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Segmental revenue from external customers	2,063,724	642,234	-	2,705,958
Total capital expenditure	84,956	103,668	-	188,624
Segmental assets	1,526,405	404,086	(229,752)	1,700,739

Segmental information for the Year ended 28 April 2013:

	UK	Non-UK	Eliminations	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Segmental revenue from external customers	1,842,429	343,151	-	2,185,580
Total capital expenditure	59,556	14,237	-	73,793
Segmental assets	1,214,320	227,178	(32,915)	1,408,583

The following table reconciles the reported operating profit to the underlying EBITDA as it is one of the main measures used by the chief operating decision maker when reviewing performance: 

Reconciliation of operating profit to underlying EBITDA for the Year ending 27 April 2014.

	Sports Retail	Premium Lifestyle	Brands	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Operating profit	251,762	(25,588)	22,957	249,131
Depreciation	50,549	4,689	1,725	56,963
Impairment	-	-	284	284
Amortisation	1,348	687	4,797	6,832
Exceptional items	5,531	-	-	5,531
Share of profit/(loss) of associated undertakings	2,679	-	(413)	2,266
Reported	311,869	(20,212)	29,350	321,007
Charges for the Bonus Share Schemes	11,927	-	-	11,927
Realised FX (Gain)/ Loss	(2,557)	(141)	868	(1,830)
Underlying EBITDA	321,239	(20,353)	30,218	331,104

Reconciliation of operating profit to underlying EBITDA for the Year ending 28 April 2013.

	Sports Retail	Premium Lifestyle	Brands	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Operating profit/(loss)	194,080	(980)	19,904	213,004
Depreciation	43,521	1,906	2,493	47,920
Impairment	314	-	1,903	2,217
Amortisation	81	113	4,482	4,676
Exceptional items	-	-	(625)	(625)
Share of profit/(loss) of associated undertakings	1,161	-	(210)	951
Reported	239,157	1,039	27,947	268,143
Charges for the Bonus Share Schemes	22,183	-	-	22,183
Realised FX Gain	(1,316)	(79)	(988)	(2,383)
Underlying EBITDA	260,024	960	26,959	287,943

3. Exceptional items

	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013
	£'000	£'000
Profit on disposal of intangible assets	-	625
Impairment of property, plant and equipment	(5,531)	-
	(5,531)	625
	-	-

The impairment relates to assets in a newly acquired entity that were no longer required post acquisition.

4. Taxation

The effective tax rate on profit before tax for FY14 was 25.0% (FY13: 26.8%). This rate reflects depreciation on non-qualifying assets and overseas earnings being taxed at a higher rate.

5. Earnings per share from total and continuing operations attributable to the equity shareholders

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders of the parent by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year. 

For diluted earnings per share, the weighted average number of shares, 585,513,537 (2013: 568,971,942), is adjusted to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares under the Group's bonus share schemes, being 32,676,278 (2013: 51,852,895), to give the diluted weighted average number of shares of 618,189,815  (2013: 620,824,837).

Basic and diluted earnings per share

	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013	Year ended 28 April 2013
		Basic £'000	Diluted £'000	Basic £'000	Diluted £'000
Profit for the period	180,245	180,245	151,596	151,596
	Number in thousands		Number in thousands
Weighted average number of shares	585,514	618,190	568,972	620,825
	Pence per share		Pence per share
Earnings per share	30.8	29.2	26.6	24.4

Underlying earnings per share

The underlying earnings per share reflects the underlying performance of the business compared with the prior year and is calculated by dividing underlying earnings by the weighted average number of shares for the period.  Underlying earnings is used by management as a measure of profitability within the Group.  Underlying earnings is defined as profit for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent for each financial period but excluding the post-tax effect of certain non-trading items.

The directors believe that the underlying earnings before exceptional items and underlying earnings per share measures provide additional useful information for shareholders on the underlying performance of the business, and are consistent with how business performance is measured internally. Underlying earnings is not a recognised profit measure under IFRS and may not be directly comparable with "adjusted" profit measures used by other companies.

Underlying earnings per share (continued)

	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013	Year ended 28 April 2013
	Basic £'000	Diluted £'000	Basic £'000	Diluted £'000
Profit for the period	180,245	180,245	151,596	151,596
Post tax adjustments to profit for the period for the following non-trading items:
Realised gain on forward exchange contracts	(1,373)	(1,373)	(1,763)	(1,763)
Fair value adjustment to forward foreign exchange contracts	8,395	8,395	1,476	1,476
Impairment of fixed assets	4,148	4,148	-	-
Profit on sale of intangible assets	-	-	(463)	(463)
Profit on disposal of listed investments	(4,060)	(4,060)	-	-
Fair value adjustments within associated undertakings	-	-	(273)	(273)
Impairment of goodwill	284	284	2,217	2,217
Underlying profit for the period	187,639	187,639	152,790	152,790
	Number in thousands		Number in thousands
Weighted average number of shares	585,514	618,190	568,972	620,825
	Pence per share		Pence per share
Earnings per share	32.1	30.3	26.9	24.6

6. Borrowings

	27 April 2014	28 April 2013
	£'000	£'000
Non-current:
Bank and other loans	6,764	245,625
Obligations under finance leases	-	2
	6,764	245,627
Current:
Bank overdrafts	5,742	5,701
Bank and other loans	350,484	50,052
	356,226	55,753
Total borrowings:
Bank overdrafts	5,742	5,701
Bank and other loans	357,248	295,677
Obligations under finance leases	-	2
	362,990	301,380

An analysis of the Group's total borrowings other than bank overdrafts is as follows:

	27 April 2014	28 April 2013
	£'000	£'000
Borrowings - Sterling	240,731	250,203
Borrowings - Other	116,517	45,476
	357,248	295,679

Loans are all at rates of interest ranging between 1.15% and 2.0% over the interbank rate of the country within which the borrowing entity resides.

At 27 April 2014 the company had access to the following unsecured working capital facilities:

·      a revolving facility agreement with ten financial institutions, with HSBC Bank plc acting as Agent of £300 million. At the year end a total of £214 million was drawn down against this facility

·      a revolving facility agreement with Barclays Bank plc with an aggregate limit of £50 million. At the year end this facility was fully drawn down

·      a revolving facility agreement with Handelsbanken plc with an aggregate limit of £25 million. At the year end this facility was fully drawn down

All of the above facilities were available until 6 March 2015.

On 28 May 2014 the company refinanced the above facilities and entered into a new committed, unsecured revolving facility agreement with thirteen financial institutions, with Barclays Bank plc acting as Agent. This revolving facility can be drawn to an aggregate limit of £688 million and is available until 27 September 2018.

The Group continues to operate comfortably within its banking facilities and covenants.

The carrying amounts and fair value of the borrowings are not materially different.

Net debt at 27 April 2014 was £212.0m (28 April 2013: £154.0m).

7. Cash inflow from operating activities

	Year ended 27 April 2014	Year ended 28 April 2013
	£'000	£'000
Profit before taxation	239,452	207,226
Net finance costs	18,962	8,571
Other investment income	(7,017)	(1,473)
Share of profits of associated undertakings and joint ventures	(2,266)	(1,320)
Operating profit	249,131	213,004
Depreciation	56,963	47,920
Amortisation	6,832	4,676
Impairment	5,815	2,217
Profit on disposal of intangibles	-	(625)
Defined benefit pension plan current service cost	22	14
Defined benefit pension plan employer contributions	(2,708)	(2,708)
Share-based payments	11,927	22,183
Operating cash inflow before changes in working capital	327,982	286,681
Increase in receivables	(18,241)	(6,579)
Increase in inventories	(52,521)	(102,026)
Decrease in payables	(34,435)	(18,982)
Cash inflow from operating activities	222,785	159,094

8. Acquisitions

Details of principal acquisitions for the year ended 27 April 2014 are set out below.

i. 29 April 2013                          Acquired the remaining 20% of the ordinary share capital of Cruise Clothing Limited. As this is an acquisition of a non-controlling interest it is outside the scope of IFRS 3. The difference between the consideration paid (£1.0m) and the value of non-controlling interests at the date of acquisition (£0.6m) has been recognised as a debit to retained earnings of £0.4m.

ii. 21 June 2013                         Acquired the trading assets of Gelert out of administration for a cash consideration of £4.7m. The primary business activity was the wholesale and retail of outdoor sporting equipment and clothing and was acquired to complement existing business activities.

iii. 28 June 2013                         Acquired 51% of the ordinary share capital of the Sports Eybl and Sports Experts Group (EAG), a retailer with 58 stores, based in Austria for consideration of €10.5m. The primary business activity was the sale of sporting equipment and clothing, and was acquired in order to enter new territories as part of the Group's European expansion plan.

In addition the Group entered into a put and call agreement to acquire the remaining 49%. This option was exercised on 26 March 2014 for a consideration of €12.75m such that the Group now has full control and ownership of EAG which better enables the Group to implement its plans and strategy in this region.

As this is an acquisition of a non-controlling interest it is outside the scope of IFRS 3. The difference between the consideration paid (£11.1m) and the value of non-controlling interests at the date of acquisition (£8.5m) has been recognised as a debit to retained earnings of £19.5m.

iv. 12 August 2013                     Acquired 60% of the ordinary share capital of SIG, based in the Baltic region, for cash consideration of €7.0m. The primary business activity was the sale of sporting equipment, and clothing and was acquired in order to enter new territories as part of the Group's European expansion plan.

In addition to acquiring 60% of the share capital of SIG, the Group entered into a call option to acquire the remaining 40%. The risks and rewards of ownership of the remaining 40% remain with the non-controlling interest and therefore the option is accounted for separately.  The call option has been recognised at fair value through profit or loss using the usual method of accounting for derivatives at their net fair value.  At the year end date no value has been attributed to the option.

The fair value of consideration paid, assets and liabilities acquired and resulting goodwill in respect of the above acquisitions is detailed below.

	EAG (£'000)	SIG (£'000)	Other (£'000)	Total (£'000)
Cash consideration	9,060	5,989	6,450	21,499
Less: fair value of net (assets)/ liabilities acquired	10,805	3,500	(5,121)	9,184
Goodwill	19,865	9,489	1,329	30,683

The strategic rationale for the acquisitions of EAG and SIG was to enter into new European territories in accordance with the Group's stated strategy. The premium paid represents the local employee and management expertise and ready-made infrastructure in these markets for which a value cannot be attributed to under IFRS3.

In accounting for these acquisitions the Group has considered whether any fair value adjustments to the assets and liabilities, including any separately identifiable intangible assets, need to be recognised.

The following items were considered by the Group:

Freehold property - the majority of the £80.6m of property, plant and equipment in the EAG balance sheet is freehold property. The Group referred to a property valuation report that was prepared shortly before the acquisition which provided comfort that the book value was not materially different to market value. Accordingly no fair value adjustment has been made.

Brands / Contracts - the principal activities of both EAG and SIG are the retailing of third party branded products. There were no internally generated brands or other commercial contracts that formed part of the acquisition.

Fascia names - both EAG and SIG trade from established fascia names. The Group considered the value of these fascia names using the current level of retail sales and an indicative royalty rate discounted at an appropriate risk adjusted cost of capital. This exercise indicated that there was no material value to be attributed to the fascia names. Accordingly no fair value adjustment has been made.

Websites - the websites acquired were not generating profits and therefore no value has been attributed to them.

Operating leases - there are a number of operating leases within both EAG and SIG. The Group consider the rentals payable under these leases to be approximate to market value. Accordingly no fair value adjustment has been made for intangible assets relating to operating leases. The Group did identify that no provision had been made locally in respect of loss making stores and therefore a fair value adjustment has been recognised to align this with the Group's policy.

Costs of £1.2m relating to the above acquisitions were expensed through the income statement during the year and were expensed as administration expenses.

None of the acquisitions included in 'other' above are considered to be individually material.

EAG

The asset values at acquisition are detailed below:

	Carrying values at acquisition	Fair value adjustment	Fair value of net assets acquired
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Property, plant and equipment	80,601	-	80,601
Intangible assets	9,117	(5,825)	3,292
Investments	535	-	535
Deferred tax assets	2,742	-	2,742
Inventories	42,634	-	42,634
Trade and other receivables	4,526	-	4,526
Cash and cash equivalents	5,450	-	5,450
Borrowings	(93,912)	-	(93,912)
Retirement benefit obligations	(2,234)	-	(2,234)
Trade and other payables	(60,903)	(1,565)	(62,468)
Provisions	-	(433)	(433)
Non-controlling interests	5,608	2,854	8,462
	(5,836)	(4,969)	(10,805)

There is no material difference between the gross and net amounts of receivables acquired.

The fair value adjustments noted above relate to the consolidated goodwill within the books of EAG on acquisition and adjustments to employment related creditors.

Cash flows arising from the acquisitions are as follows:  

	27 April 2014
	£'000
Cash consideration	9,060
Cash acquired	(5,450)
Net cash outflow in the cash flow statement	3,610

SIG

The asset values at acquisition are detailed below:

	Carrying values at acquisition	Provisional fair value adjustment	Fair value of net assets acquired
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Property, plant and equipment	2,056	-	2,056
Intangible assets	155	-	155
Inventories	14,456	-	14,456
Trade and other receivables	2,928	-	2,928 2,928
Cash and cash equivalents	530	-	530
Borrowings	(13,590)	-	(13,590)
Trade and other payables	(12,514)	-	(12,514) (12,513)
Non-controlling interests	2,479	-	2,479
	(3,500)	(2,971)	(3,500)

 Cash flows arising from the acquisitions are as follows:  

	27 April 2014
	£'000
Cash consideration	5,989
Cash acquired	(530)
Net cash outflow in the cash flow statement	5,459

Other acquisitions

The asset values at acquisition are detailed below:

	Carrying values at acquisition	Provisional fair value adjustment	Fair value of net assets acquired
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Property, plant and equipment	1,306	-	1,306
Intangible assets	1,400	-	1,400
Inventories	8,906	-	8,906
Trade and other receivables	1,208	-	1,208
Cash and cash equivalents	112	-	112
Borrowings	(1,609)	-	(1,609)
Trade and other payables	(5,774)	-	(5,774)
Non-controlling interests	(428)	-	(428)
	5,121	-	5,121

Cash flows arising from the acquisitions are as follows:  

	27 April 2014
	£'000
Cash consideration	6,450
Cash acquired	(112)
Net cash outflow in the cash flow statement	6,338

Since the date of acquisition the following balances have been included within the Group's financial statements for the period in respect of the above acquired entities:

	EAG	SIG	Other	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Revenue	214,598	39,901	22,153	276,652
Operating profit / (loss)	(8,658)	457	(3,738)	(11,939)
(Loss) / profit before tax	(10,910)	195	(3,770)	(14,485)

Had the above acquisitions been included from the start of the period, £2,754,000,000 of revenue, £253,386,000 of operating profit and £237,627,000 of profit before tax would have been shown in the Group's financial statements.

There were no contingent liabilities acquired as a result of the above transactions.

9. Post balance sheet events

On 28 May 2014, Sports Direct International plc and certain subsidiaries (the "Borrowers") entered into a committed, unsecured revolving facility agreement with thirteen financial institutions, with Barclays Bank plc acting as Agent (the "Revolving Facility"). The Revolving Facility is available to any of the Borrowers and can be drawn to an aggregate limit of £688 million. It is capable of being utilised by way of cash advances and/or currency borrowings. This facility is not secured against any assets. This Facility is available until 27 September 2018.

On 18 June 2014, Sports Direct International plc acquired a 4.8% stake in MySale Group PLC ("Mysale"), which recently commenced trading on the Alternative Investment Market of London Stock Exchange. On 14 July 2014, Sports Direct announced a partnership with Mysale, including a new online offering in Australia and New Zealand and the opening of three flagship stores in Australia and one in New Zealand.

On 20 June 2014 the Group sold a freehold property for £21.2m and then entered into an agreement to lease the property back from the buyer.

There were no other material post balance sheet events after 27 April 2014 to the date of this announcement.

 

END

 

 

FR QKADBDBKBNOD