Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 3780A

Sports Direct International Plc

19 February 2014

 

19 February 2014                             

Sports Direct International plc

Interim Management Statement

Growth Driven by Sports Retail

Sports Direct International plc ("the Group"), the UK's leading sports retailer, today announces its Interim Management Statement relating to the period from 28 October 2013 to 18 February 2014.

Current Trading Update

Group sales for the 13 weeks ending 26 January 2014 were up 11.2% to £655.4m (2013: £589.5m) and gross profit increased 14.6% to £280.7m (2013: £244.8m). ^{(1) (2)}

Sports Retail sales in the 13 week period increased 6.9% to £529.9m (2013: £495.8m), and Sports Retail gross profit increased 12.9% to £230.0m (2013: £203.7m). ⁽¹⁾

UK Sports Retail square footage increased to circa 4.2m sq. ft. (2013: circa 4.0m sq. ft.).

Premium Lifestyle sales in the period were up 52.5% to £71.2m (2013: £46.7m) with gross profit increasing 39.2% to £28.4m (2013: £20.4m). ⁽²⁾

The Brands division revenue increased by 15.5% to £54.3m (2013: £47.0m), and the corresponding gross profit increased by 7.7% to £22.3m (2013: £20.7m).

There has been no material change in the financial position of the Group since the end of the most recent reporting period on 27 October 2013.

(1) Sales and gross profit of Sports Eybl & Sports Experts AG and Sportland International Group AS, which were acquired on 26 June 2013 and 12 August 2013, are excluded from these figures.

(2) Sales and gross profit of Republic, which was acquired on 28 February 2013, are included in the current period figures, but not the prior period.

Dave Forsey, Chief Executive of Sports Direct International plc, said:

"Despite tougher comparisons during the period, Sports Retail continues to perform well driven by our on-going focus on exceptional quality, unbeatable value and availability.  Online also performed strongly with non-UK online gross profit contribution expected to be greater than the UK equivalent by the end of this financial year.

"While we retain the ability to invest in margin, inventory and Group marketing to deliver long-term sustainable growth, the Board is very confident of achieving at least our full year internal underlying EBITDA target of £310m, before the charge for the Employee Bonus Share Scheme."

The Group's Preliminary Results will be announced on 17 July 2014.

For further information, please contact:

Sports Direct International plc Dave Forsey, Chief Executive Jeff Blue, Director, Strategic Development	T: 0845 129 9229
Powerscourt Rory Godson Victoria Palmer-Moore Greg Lawless	T: 0207 250 1446

Notes to Editors

Sports Direct is the UK's leading sports retailer by revenue and operating profit, with approximately 400 stores across the UK. The Group provides an unrivalled range of products, offering exceptional quality and unbeatable value, from a wide variety of third-party and Group-owned brands, both in-store and online. Sports Direct operates in 19 countries in Europe, including Belgium, Austria, Slovenia, Portugal and France.

The Group has an extensive brand portfolio, comprising 28 internationally recognised sports, fashion and lifestyle brands including Dunlop, Slazenger, Everlast, Lonsdale and Karrimor.

Sports Direct was founded in 1982, listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2007 and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index.

For more information please visit: www.sportsdirectplc.com

 

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