Sportswear retailer Frasers lifts 2021 view on online sales, store reopenings (updated)
10/12/2020 07:40
(Adds detail on outlook, results, background)
Dec 10 (Reuters) - Mike Ashley's British sportswear group
Frasers FRAS.L reported a 25% rise in first-half core earnings
on Thursday and raised the lower end of its annual forecast,
boosted by online sales and store reopenings after
coronavirus-led lockdowns.
The group, formerly named after its flagship Sports Direct
brand, raised the bottom end of its annual core profit forecast
by 10%, expecting growth between 20% to 30% from 10% to 30% it
predicted earlier.
Frasers had to close stores across Europe due to the
lockdowns, but its online business has traded well throughout,
benefiting from increased demand for so called athleisure during
the pandemic.
Revenue was down 7.4% at 1.89 billion pounds ($2.52 billion)
in the first-half, with declines in all segments except premium
lifestyle, which was boosted by the acquisition of luxury brand
Flannels.
Buying other businesses and strategic stakes forms part of
Ashley's plan, whose long-stated desire is to make Frasers the
"Selfridges of sport".
Frasers had said it was in talks to buy collapsed department
store chain Debenhams from administrators in a rescue deal and
would be interested in participating in the sale process of
Philip Green's collapsed Arcadia Group. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2IN0BM urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2IG179
For the six months to Oct. 25, the company made underlying
earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
(EBITDA) of 226.3 million pounds ($301.93 million), compared
with 181.2 million pounds a year earlier.
($1 = 0.7504 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong; Editing by Saumyadeb
Chakrabarty and Arun Koyyur)
((saumya.chakrabarty@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223
8780; outside U.S. +91 80 6182 2630;))