(News Bulletin 247) – The group published a 2.4% growth in its revenues at a number of comparable stores in the second quarter, which allowed sales to progress over the whole of the first half.

JD Sports has upped the tempo in the second quarter. The British group specializing in the distribution of sporting goods, such as products from the Nike, Adidas, Asics and New Balance brands, delivered a sharp increase in sales in the second quarter of its 2024-2025 financial year.

Over the period, the company saw its revenues increase by 2.4% on a comparable store basis and by 8.3% on an organic basis (excluding currency effects and the impact of acquisitions or disposals). This marks a clear improvement compared to the first quarter, during which its sales had declined by 0.7% on a comparable store basis and increased by 4.9% on an organic basis.

“Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, JD Sports was able to increase its comparable store sales in all regions except the UK,” Bank of America said. Growth was driven by North America (+5.7%) and Europe (+3%), while the UK saw a decline of 0.8%. Bank of America also noted that the Euro 2024 football tournament provided “marginal” support to sales over the period.

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Objectives maintained

For the first half, the company saw its sales increase by 0.7% on a comparable store basis and by 6.4% on an organic basis. According to a consensus cited by Bank of America, analysts had expected increases of 0.5% and 6.3% respectively for this period.

The gross margin for the second quarter was 48.4%, down 0.3 percentage points year-on-year, but 0.4 points above expectations.

“While the overall market remains volatile, we demonstrated good promotional discipline and proactively managed inventory to support gross margins during the period,” the company said.

Following the release, the company maintained its full-year adjusted profit before tax forecast of £955 million to £1.035 billion (€1.125 billion to €1.220 billion), despite unfavourable currency effects, which the company expects to have a £15 million impact.

A sector in a complicated situation

“The absence of any change in forecasts, despite an unfavourable exchange rate effect and concerns regarding ‘opex’ (operating expenses, editor’s note), should reassure investors,” UBS believes.

“The acceleration of growth is on the right track,” said Bank of America, which reiterated its buy recommendation on the stock, citing the company’s weak valuation.

On the London Stock Exchange, JD Sports shares took off this Thursday, gaining 8.2% around 3:15 p.m. However, the share price remains down 15.5% over the whole of 2024. The stock had notably plunged 23% in a single session, at the beginning of January, after a heavy profit warning.

The sporting goods sector is currently under pressure on the stock market, particularly at the equipment manufacturers level. Puma was swept away by the market on August 7, its shares falling by almost 11%. The German group had published sales deemed “weak” by Deutsche Bank in the second quarter and reduced its operating profit forecast. Nike, for its part, had plummeted in June on Wall Street (-20% in a single session), after having communicated disappointing prospects for its current financial year.

Unlike its two major competitors, Adidas is delighting the market and even raised its annual targets last month. Its share price is up 18% over the whole of 2024.