JD Sports hails record profits as its key customers buoyed by jobs market

It reported a profit before tax and adjusted items of £991m in the year to the end of January, compared with £947m the prior year, which it said was a record result.

Its revenues jumped above £10bn for the first time, up from £8.6bn the prior year, driven by sales growth of more than a tenth over the year.

Chief executive Regis Schultz, who took the top job in September last year after the departure of Peter Cowgill, said sales volumes went up in the latest year as more items were sold.

However, he revealed that average prices across its products were between 5 per cent and 10 per cent higher than the previous year, which also helped lift revenues.

JD clothing is an “affordable luxury” for its buyers, Mr Schultz stressed.

“Our key target customer is the young adult, and the young adult all over the the world is benefiting from low unemployment, and I think that is driving the morale and the revenue of our key customer.”

Its key buyers have more money to spend because they can more easily find a job today than they could three years ago, he said.

He added: “Our sneaker is the new normal for footwear, and you can see that in the streets, where about 80% of shoes are sneakers – which are much less expensive than formal shoes.”

Mr Schultz also said he “embraces competition” from rival retailers, such as H&M and Asos expanding their sportswear ranges, adding that JD is growing online where others are not.

Last month, JD outlined growth plans to open up to 350 shops globally each year, focused in North America and continental Europe.

It has been growing rapidly in the US, including adding a flagship store in Chicago, and had 58 net new store openings across Europe such as in Hungary and Greece.

JD said it was encouraged by the resilient nature of consumer demand but remains “conscious of the headwinds that prevail” including global economic and political concerns.