Shares of JD Sports Fashion plc, the Bury-based FTSE 100 retailer, rose as much as 9% on Thursday after it published results for the year to January 31, 2026, showing revenue increased 10.5% to £12.662 billion and profit before tax fell 12% to £629 million.
Dividend per share will rise 20% to 1.20p.
The Bury company surprised the market recently by saying Andrew Higginson has informed the board of his intention to step down as chair at the conclusion of the company’s AGM on July 21, 2026.
JD Sports reported a year-end net cash position (before lease liabilities) of £311 million (FY25: £52m) “after £253m of dividend payments and share buybacks (FY25: £48m).”
On the first quarter of the current financial year, JD Sports said: “Organic sales flat YoY and LFL -2.3% to 25 April 2026 (noting Q1 has the lowest sales weighting in our financial year).”
On its full year market outlook, the firm said: “Continue to anticipate muted market growth in the near term, in line with our previous guidance …
“Although JD has no direct exposure in the Middle East, we continue to closely monitor the evolving situation and its potential impact on the consumer and our business if the crisis is prolonged …”
On FY27 guidance, the company said: ” … reflecting the uncertainty, we are providing a wider range of profit guidance than we were previously planning for internally. Based on what we know today, we anticipate FY27 PBTAI of £750m to £850m, and free cash flow of £460m to £520m.”
JD Sports Fashion Group CEO Regis Schultz said: “We delivered a resilient performance, achieving organic sales growth of 2.1% despite tough market conditions. Our deep understanding of our customers and lifestyle trends give us a clear view of how they want to shop and spend, allowing us to consistently deliver the right products, in the right places and at the right prices. This customer‑led focus, alongside disciplined cost and capital management, supported a 36% increase in free cash flow.
“In North America, our largest region at nearly 40% of sales, sales trends sequentially improved through the year, culminating in a return to LFL sales growth in the fourth quarter, as we optimised our ranging, supply chain and omni-channel proposition. We are now building on that progress with increased targeted marketing investment to support the JD brand’s expansion and build on our momentum in this key region.
“We also made good progress against our strategic priorities, launching automation at our Heerlen distribution centre to support JD Europe store replenishment, and advancing our global e‑commerce re‑platforming programme, with full roll‑out to Europe and the UK planned for later in 2026.
“These programmes are critical stepping stones in future-proofing the infrastructure for a Group of our scale, creating a robust platform that enables us to operate more efficiently and drive future growth. My thanks go to all my colleagues for their relentless energy and commitment.
“Whilst we continue to expect muted market growth in FY27, we remain confident in JD Group’s medium‑term trajectory, underpinned by our strong brand partnerships and agile, multi‑brand model.
“For the year ahead we are focused on further enhancing and optimising our product offer, customer experience and store footprint, and delivering strong cost and cash discipline – in essence, ‘controlling the controllables’. These actions position us well to deliver on our new commitments on free cash flow and cash returns to shareholders announced today.”
REACTION:
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: “JD Sports hasn’t kicked off the year in style, but there were early signs of improving trends in its largest region, North America. On the face of it, total sales growth of 11.7% in a tough retail market looks impressive. But stripping out the impact of its Hibbett and Courir acquisitions, organic sales growth came in at a more slender 2.1%. The Middle East conflict hasn’t had a direct impact on JD Sports so far, given its lack of presence in the region, but there’s potential for it to weigh on consumers’ confidence and spending power going forward if energy prices remain elevated.
“Looking to the year ahead, organic sales growth has been flat so far in the first quarter, and the sports fashion market is expected to remain muted in the near term. As a result, JD Sports is shifting into a new phase, away from rapid expansion to squeezing the most out of its existing store footprint.
“We think this is the right approach given the weak spending outlook for its core customer base, and it should help strengthen the balance sheet. The group remains a highly cash-generative business, with free cash flows expected to improve further this year. As a result, shareholders are being rewarded with a 20% increase in dividends and a new £200mn share buyback programme. With JD’s valuation coming under pressure in recent times, the latter is equivalent to more than 6% of JD’s current market value.”