Interactive Investor

Sprint after record-breaking JD Sports

17th September 2014 12:22

Lee Wild from interactive investor

JD Sports Fashion had a fantastic 2013, and after a pause for breath this year, has unveiled a record set of first half numbers. Profit actually doubled and City number crunchers have raised forecasts for the full-year. The second half will be harder, but the sports retailer's shares look to have legs.

Sales for the 26 weeks ended 2 August surged by 27% to £721.5 million and costs as a percentage of revenue fell sharply. Strip out £3.5 million of one-off items, mainly provisions for onerous property leases, and operating profit rocketed from £10.4 million to £21 million. Investec Securities had pencilled in just £15 million.

An "exceptional" performance at the Sports division was the driving force. There, business was up across Europe and profit grew by a third to £34.8 million. Trainers sold particularly well.

Crucially, losses at the Outdoor unit - Blacks and Millets - narrowed significantly from £8.9 million to £5.6 million and are expected to shrink further during the remainder of the year. Fashion had another shocker, though, with losses widening to £8.2 million from £6.8 million. However, the second quarter showed signs of improvement and the second half is typically busier. Underperforming stores are being shut and rents reduced, too.

Admittedly, comparisons get tougher as the year progresses - like-for-like sales at the core UK and Ireland Sports operation jumped by 11.2% in the second half of last year.

That's why Investec capped its upgrade for full-year adjusted pre-tax profit at 3%. The broker now expects JD to make £83.5 million in the year to January, giving adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 32p, up 9%. It's looking for 11% growth the following year.

Of course, JD has work to do turning round both the Outdoor and Fashion operations, but both are achievable. Fix them, and Investec points out that EPS would be enhanced by 18%. True, that's unlikely short-term, but it gives an idea of the potential.

Strip out forecast year-end net cash of £61.1 million, worth 31p per share, and JD Sports shares (currently at 433p) trade on just 12.6 times forward earnings, dropping to less than 11 for 2016. JD shares have consistently found strong support at the 200-day moving average (currently 396p), but if management keep this up, they won't need it.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.