JD Sports HY27 profit falls as sales soften, full-year guidance maintained

JD Sports Fashion PLC (LON:JD) has announced its half yuear results 2026/27 (HY27)

Disciplined execution with continued strategic progress and strong cash position

Performance summary:

⁽¹⁾ Gross margin % restated in HY26. See note 14 to the condensed consolidated interim financial statements for further information. * See page 2 for further details on Alternative Performance Measures; ^± Before adjusting items, after interest on lease liabilities

Régis Schultz, CEO of JD Sports Fashion plc:

“Our Group organic sales were -0.7% for the half, a resilient performance against a challenging backdrop of consumer cost-of-living pressures, footwear product cycle headwinds and a highly promotional market. We remained focused on ‘controlling the controllables’ – progressing our strategy at pace while maintaining tight cost and capital discipline.

“We achieved several strategic milestones in the period. We continued to broaden our product proposition, with apparel and accessories growing to 36% of Group sales, alongside strong momentum in performance-based running and newer footwear styles. New e-commerce platforms went live in the UK and Ireland, and online sales grew to 20% of Group sales. JD STATUS surpassed 10m active loyalty customers globally, and we became one of the first retailers in the US to enable purchase and checkout directly within an AI platform. We also initiated a reorganisation of our store portfolio in Eastern Europe and have now completed our restructuring programme in Germany.

“We ended the half with net cash of £168m, an improvement of nearly £300m year-on-year after returning £260m to shareholders through buybacks and dividends over the last 12 months. Our FY27 guidance is unchanged from our Q2 trading statement: profit before tax and adjusting items of £700m to £800m and free cash flow of £460m to £520m, reflecting our focus on working capital efficiency and inventory management.

“While the trading environment remains tough, I am encouraged by the progress we are making and confident in our strategic execution. My thanks go to all our colleagues worldwide for their continued hard work and focus.”

HY27 Headlines:

Resilient HY27 performance against a tough global consumer backdrop and ongoing footwear product cycle transition, with total sales -0.8% at constant FX rates

Organic* sales -0.7% (at constant FX rates), including a +2.1%pts contribution from net new space despite a 2.2% lower store count year-on-year (YoY); like-for-like* (LFL) sales -2.8%

Good performance in apparel and accessories (c.+4% YoY); footwear softer (c.-3% YoY) given product cycle dynamics, but encouraging momentum in performance-based running and newer footwear styles

Online sales increased as a proportion of Group sales to 20% (HY26: 19%), with organic online sales +5.2% YoY, supported by continued investment in omni-channel ranging, fulfilment and technology platforms

Gross margin of 46.8%, 20bps lower YoY, with underlying controlled price investments of -50bps net (particularly in online) partially offset by higher marketing contributions

Profit before tax and adjusting items (PBTAI) of £282m (HY26: £351m); statutory PBT up 74.6% to £241m

Strong balance sheet and improving cash generation: net cash (before lease liabilities)* of £168m as of period-end (2 August 2025: net debt of £125m); HY free cash flow of -£18m (HY26: -£68m)

Interim dividend of 0.40p declared, 21% higher than prior year (HY26 interim dividend: 0.33p); second £100m tranche of the FY27 £200m share buyback programme commenced in August 2026

FY27 PBTAI⁽¹⁾ guidance of £700m to £800m and free cash flow guidance of £460m to £520m both unchanged from our Q2 trading statement

STRATEGIC PROGRESS HIGHLIGHTS:

JD Brand First

Continued execution against store productivity and optimisation strategy globally: remain on track to convert or close all remaining standalone Finish Line stores by the end of FY28 (145 standalone stores remaining); JD Germany consolidated from 91 to 62 stores (completed post period-end); JD and Sizeer reorganisation initiated in Eastern Europe; new ‘bigger and better’ UK flagships opened in Cardiff and Sheffield

Significantly expanded franchise platform: signed agreement with Grupo Axo to operate 140+ JD stores in Mexico, starting in 2027

Complementary Concepts

City Gear conversions to DTLR and Shoe Palace progressing well, with remodelled stores significantly outperforming prior year; Courir growing in Italy (eight stores, targeting 18 by year-end)

UK Outdoor business continues to simplify and strengthen: store footprint being actively optimised, product ranges being refreshed with greater newness, Shopify e-commerce re-platform complete, and distribution centre consolidation delivered

Beyond Physical Retail

New e-commerce platforms live in the UK and Ireland, delivering improved discovery, checkout, loyalty integration and AI-enabled product assistance; marketplace propositions being explored and tested across the Group

JD STATUS surpassed 10m active loyalty customers globally; became one of the first retailers to enable a native purchase experience on an AI platform in the US

People, Partners & Communities

Announced £1m BBC Children in Need partnership to fund 50 youth projects across the UK

SBTi supplier engagement target now live and published; Group climate risk assessment completed, and new emissions reporting platform implemented