Pre-close Trading Update

RNS Number : 2713F

Sports Direct International Plc

23 April 2014

 



23 April 2014

Sports Direct International plc

Pre-close Trading Update

Sports Direct International plc ("the Group"), the UK's leading sports retailer, today provides an update on current trading in advance of its year end on 27 April 2014.

Current Trading Update

Group sales for the 9 weeks ended 30 March 2014 were up 10.3% to £360.0m (2013: £326.3m) and gross profit increased 11.5% to £147.0m (2013: £131.8m). ^{(1) (2)}

Sports Retail sales in the 9 week period increased 11.0% to £293.3m (2013: £264.3m), and Sports Retail gross profit increased 14.9% to £120.4m (2013: £104.8m). ⁽¹⁾

Premium Lifestyle sales in the period were up 0.7% to £27.1m (2013: £26.9m) with gross profit decreasing 4.1% to £9.9m (2013: £10.3m). ⁽²⁾

The Brands division revenue increased by 12.8% to £39.6m (2013: £35.1m), with gross profit remaining level at £16.7m.

There has been no material change in the financial position of the Group since the end of the most recent reporting period on 19 February 2014.

(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 both the current period figures and the prior period.

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

"Sports Retail continues to perform well since the end of January, primarily driven by our on-going focus on exceptional quality, unbeatable value, availability and the continued optimisation of sales between stores and online.

"During the period, the Board was extremely disappointed to withdraw the resolution regarding a proposed share scheme award to Mike Ashley.  The most disappointing aspect was where large shareholders gave their support only to then vote differently. This outcome is likely to lead to further uncertainty in the future.

"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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