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JD Sports Fashion PLC on Wednesday said it will meet market expectations for annual profit, as it highlighted an improving trend in its key market of North America. JD Sports shares were up 2.3% to 80.08 pence early Wednesday in London. The wider FTSE 100 index was marginally lower. The Manchester, England-based sportswear retailer said it expects financial 2026 profit before tax and adjusting items to be in line with current market expectations, which it placed at £849 million. This would be down 8.0% from £923 in financial 2025, which in turn was down 4.0% from £961 million in financial 2024. JD Sports’ financial year runs to the end of January. In the fourth quarter to date, or the nine weeks to January 3, group sales fell 1.8% on a like-for-like basis, but climbed 1.4% on an organic basis. In the year-to-date, like-for-like sales fell 2.1% but rose 2.2% on an organic basis. JD Sports said it is seeing an improved like-for-like sales trend in its largest market, North America. In the fourth quarter to date, like-for-like sales in America rose 1.5%, compared to a 1.7% fall in the third quarter. This was offset by weaker like-for-like trends in Europe and the UK, which were down 3.4% and 5.3% respectively in the fourth quarter so far, compared to 1.1% and 3.3% falls in the third quarter. In Asia-Pacific, like-for-like sales were up 2.8% in the fourth quarter to date. JD Sports expects its gross margin for financial 2026 to be 50 basis points lower than in financial 2025 as it notes ‘controlled price investments in the period’. Gross margin before adjusting items was 47.8% in financial 2025, down from 48.0% in financial 2024. This suggest financial 2026 gross margin will be 47.3%. JD Sports said it is on track for £400 million free cash flow in financial 2026, and the company noted it completed £200 million worth of share buybacks during the year to return cash to shareholders. ‘Overall sales during the peak period were in line with our expectations, against a volatile consumer backdrop. Black Friday saw strong customer engagement across all regions, but demand softened in the first half of December, particularly in Europe and the UK,’ Chief Executive Officer Regis Schultz said. ‘We responded decisively in the final weeks of the period by choosing to make targeted price investments, and we saw improved sales in the immediate run-up to Christmas Day and the period after, demonstrating the strong customer appeal of JD and its complementary fascias, in a challenging market.’ Schultz added: ‘Looking ahead, we remain confident that our agile, multi-brand, cross-category approach will enable us to outperform the market, and deliver strong cash flows and enhanced shareholder returns.’ JD Sports will release its full annual results on May 7. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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