Sports Direct warns on profit
Sports Direct has warned that it is likely to miss its target for full year profits due to difficult Christmas trading.
In a statement, the company said it had seen a deterioration of trading conditions on the high street since its interim results on 10 December 2015. In addition, trading has also been impacted by the continuation of unseasonal weather.
As a result, Sports Direct said it is “no longer confident” of meeting its adjusted underlying EBITDA target before share scheme costs of £420 million for the full year.
It added: “In light of these factors, and in anticipation of similar trading conditions between now and the end of April, management’s current expectation for the full year is for adjusted underlying EBITDA (before share scheme costs) of between £380 million and £420 million.”
In December, Sports Direct reported that its underlying pre-tax profit increased by 3.6% to £166.4 million in the first half of its financial year. In the 26 weeks ended 25 October 2015, group revenue edged up 0.1% year-on-year to £1.4 billion.
