Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has reported a 29 per cent increase in profit after tax for the six months ended 25 October.
The retail group – which businesses include Sports Direct, House of Fraser and Jack Wills – records profits of £84.4m before tax for the period.
However, UK Sports Retail revenue fell by 9.8 per cent, due to temporary closures to non-essential stores during the pandemic. This contributed to a drop of 7.4 per cent in group revenue to £1.9bn.
David Daly, non-executive chair, said: “Unfortunately the Covid-19 crisis continues to be a significant issue for all of us and we are currently living through a second wave. This has resulted in more lockdowns and restrictions which are materially impacting the business.
“I do not wish to comment on the wider Covid-19 picture but from a general retail perspective, it is impossible to ignore the lack of clarity of guidance when it finally arrives. Fortunately, the Frasers Group is a strong business built on solid foundations. We can weather most of the storms faced this calendar year, however much of the UK High Street, which was already suffering before Covid-19, won’t survive unless the Government addresses the out of date business rates regime which is due to return come April 2021.”
Mr Daly added that the group’s online offering “remains resilient” and “helps to mitigate” the negative impacts of store closures on the business.
After the “successful” reopening on its stores, Frasers Group has raised the bottom end of its full year profit forecast and expects to achieve a 20 per cent to 30 per cent improvement in underlying EBITDA during FY21.
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