Frasers Group PLC (LSE:FRAS)’s acquisition strategy has been shown to bear fruit as the FTSE 100 retailer boasted a record full-year performance.
Revenues in the year to 30 April 2023 jumped by 15.8% to £5.56bn, Mike Ashley’s firm said in a statement.
However, this increase was driven by acquisitions made throughout the year, such as Missguided last June and Gieves & Hawkes in November, and the impact of a 53-week reporting year.
Without these factors, sales would have increased by only 1.3%, Frasers said.
Profit before tax (PBT) nearly doubled compared to the same period a year earlier, jumping by 96.9% to £660.7mln. On an adjusted PBT basis, earnings grew by 40.7% to £478.1mln.
Frasers added that the core Sports Direct business was the “key driver” as its elevation strategy continues to deliver success.
“The Elevation Strategy is continuing to drive results across every segment, and I want to thank the entire company for all their hard work in delivering our vision for Frasers Group. It has been a particularly significant year for Sports Retail, demonstrating that elevating Sports Direct was the right strategy,” said chief executive Michael Murray.
Looking forward, Frasers said the new financial year has started well, especially at Sports Direct, which continues to benefit from the strengthening relationships with key brand partners.
Frasers also added it expects further progress on acquisition synergies and cost mitigation exercises in the current fiscal year.
As such, it expects full-year adjusted PBT in the range of £500mln-£550mln, which would “represent strong underlying trading profit progression”.
“We enter the new financial year in a strong position and are determined to unlock further growth, underpinned by our laser focus and acceleration of our Elevation Strategy,” Murray added.