Pre-close Trading Update

RNS Number : 4064Q

Sports Direct International Plc

19 October 2011

 



19 October 2011

Sports Direct International plc

Pre-close Trading Update

Sports Direct International plc ("the Group" or "the Company") today provides an update on current trading in advance of its half year end on 23 October 2011.

Group total sales for the nine weeks ending 25 September 2011 grew 11.5% to £329m (2010: £295m) and gross profit increased 12.0% to £131m (2010: £117m).

Retail division sales for the same period increased 12.1% to £296m (2010: £264m), and retail gross profit increased 13.3% to £119m (2010: £105m).  This does not include sales and gross profit from the newly formed Premium Lifestyle division.

In the Interim Management Statement on 7 September 2011, the Board confirmed that the Group is confident of reaching the full year targeted underlying EBITDA of £215m (before the charge for the bonus share scheme).  Based on current trading, the Board remains of this view.

Dave Forsey, Chief Executive of Sports Direct International plc, said:

"The Group has delivered strong growth through the second quarter, further validating our resilient business model.  The strong trading highlights the positive sales growth achieved post the tough FIFA World Cup comparisons, while we have continued to invest in margin, inventory and additional Group marketing.

"Management continues to believe that the Group's strong performance, particularly against the tough economic backdrop, is underpinned by the introduction of the Employee Bonus Share Scheme in 2009 and the new four-year scheme announced earlier in 2011.

"We remain positive about the Group's outlook and are excited about the opportunities in 2012 with the official Sport Relief T-Shirtavailable exclusively in stores and online from 19 January 2012 and both UEFA EURO 2012 and the London Olympics in the summer."

The Company will announce its Interim Results for the 26 weeks ending 23 October 2011 on Thursday 15 December 2011.

For further information, please contact:

Sports Direct International plc Dave Forsey, Chief Executive Bob Mellors, Group Finance Director	0845 129 9229
FTI Consulting Jonathon Brill Caroline Stewart Alex Beagley	0207 831 3113

 

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