JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) will unveil full-year results next Thursday, 28 March, after cutting profit guidance just months ago in January.
“A profit warning in January, which cited unhelpful weather for sales of fleeces, pushback on high prices in the UK and margin pressure in the USA, has hardly helped sentiment toward the stock during a time when the murky economic outlook and cost-of-living crisis remain a concern,” AJ Bell analysts noted ahead of the results.
Indeed, the shares have fallen over 30% so far this year, largely driven by the knock in January.
That said, an aggressive store opening plan by new boss Régis Schultz should coincide with organic growth to push like-for-like sales higher for the year, analysts continued, with the market expecting the figure to climb by 7% to £11.3 billion.
Pre-tax profit of between £915 million and £935 million is expected on the back of the company’s own downgrade in January meanwhile, with flat margins of 9.2% anticipated.
JD’s results will also be judged on Schultz's five-year plan, laid out in February 2023, though, as per AJ Bell.
This includes his aims for double-digit annual revenue growth, up to 350 new store openings each year, investment plans and market share gains.