JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.)’s third-quarter figures are due next Thursday, 21 November, after chairman Andrew Higginson added to warnings over price hikes after last month’s Budget.
A mixed reading is expected by analysts, with sales across the UK likely to have remained downtrodden, adding to tax hike-fuelled woes on the back of the Budget.
According to Deutsche Bank, UK sales are anticipated to be 1.2% lower in the third quarter, following a 4.6% drop at the half year stage.
“We expect trading to have been mixed across the quarter,” Deutsche said, “with a stronger August supported by back to school”.
Attention is also set to be on any specific commentary from JD around the impact of the employer national insurance hike unveiled in the Budget and minimum wage increases.
Higginson, who also chairs the British Retail Consortium, has already sounded the alarm over price hikes among retailers due to soaring costs.
These would be “too much” for the industry to bear, he said in an interview, joining a chorus of warnings, including from the likes of Sainsbury’s and M&S.
JD’s international businesses are set to have fared better over the quarter though, Deutsche added, with growth across the US, Europe and elsewhere expected to have fuelled a 7.2% increase in organic sales overall.