REG - JD Sports Fashion - FULL YEAR RESULTS 2025/26 (FY26)
Today 07:00
For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260507:nRSG3222Da&default-theme=true
RNS Number : 3222D JD Sports Fashion PLC 07 May 2026
FULL YEAR RESULTS 2025/26 (FY26)
Building on resilient FY26; advancing five key strategic priorities at pace in
FY27
performance SUMMARY:
£m 52 weeks to 52 weeks to % change (reported) % change (constant*)
31 Jan 2026
1 Feb 2025((1))
Sales 12,662 11,458 +10.5% +11.7%
Gross margin %* 47.0% 47.0% - -
Operating profit*(±) 886 937 (5.4)% (4.0)%
Operating margin %*(±) 7.0% 8.2% (120)bps (110)bps
Profit before tax and adjusting items* 852 923 (7.7)% (6.4)%
Adjusted basic earnings per share* (pence) 11.71 12.39 (5.5)%
Free cash flow* 462 339 +36.3%
Statutory measures
Operating profit 787 903 (12.8)%
Net finance expense (158) (188) (16.0)%
Profit before tax 629 715 (12.0)%
Basic earnings per share (pence) 8.63 9.50 (9.2)%
Dividend per share (pence) 1.20 1.00 +20.0%
((1)) Gross margin % restated in FY25. See note 12 to the condensed
consolidated financial statements for further information. * See page 3 for
further details on Alternative Performance Measures; (±) Before adjusting
items, after interest on lease liabilities
Régis Schultz, CEO of JD Sports Fashion plc:
"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."
FY26 Headlines:
• Resilient financial performance, against tough global industry and consumer
backdrop
• Organic* sales +2.1% (at constant FX rates), with growth in all regions except
the UK; like-for-like* (LFL) sales -2.1%, in line with our expectations. Total
sales +11.7% (at constant FX rates) driven by annualisations of the Hibbett
and Courir acquisitions in the prior year
• Broad and energised product offer delivered a good organic sales performance
in apparel globally (c.+5% YoY); footwear softer (flat YoY) given product
cycle evolution, but encouraging momentum in running category
• Strong organic online sales growth across North America (+12.2%) and Europe
(+3.8%), supported by ongoing evolution of omni-channel ranging and technology
platforms
• Gross margin of 47.0%, flat YoY, with underlying controlled price investments
of -30bps net (particularly in online) offset by higher marketing
contributions
• Profit before tax and adjusting items (PBTAI) of £852m (FY25: £923m);
statutory PBT down 12.0% to £629m
• Operating cash flow of £1,309m, +3.3% YoY. Strong free cash flow of £462m,
up £123m, supported by cost and capital discipline. Net inventory c.+3% YoY
(at constant FX rates), broadly in line with organic sales growth
• Year-end net cash position (before lease liabilities) of £311m (FY25: £52m),
after £253m of dividend payments and share buybacks (FY25: £48m)
FY27 OUTLOOK AND GUIDANCE:
• Q127 trading update: Organic sales flat YoY and LFL -2.3% to 25 April 2026
(noting Q1 has the lowest sales weighting in our financial year)
• FY27 market outlook:
- 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
• FY27 guidance: 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((1)), and free
cash flow of £460m to £520m
• 'Controlling the controllables':
- Advancing five key strategic priorities at pace in FY27 (see below)
- Gross margin: continued controlled price investments (weighted towards H127)
- Opex: aiming to significantly offset underlying LFL opex increases through
efficiency and productivity initiatives
- Cash: continued disciplined capex and strong working capital management; gross
capex guidance of c.£400m in FY27 (FY26: £401m)
• Enhanced shareholder returns: Proposing 20% uplift in FY26 total dividend to
1.20p (FY25: 1.00p), alongside the launch of our latest £200m share buyback
programme on 23 February 2026, underlining the Group's strong cash generation
and updated capital allocation framework (see below)
Advancing five key STRATEGIC PRIORITIES at pace in FY27:
• Strengthening and diversifying our product range: leveraging our deep
understanding of our customer, brand relationships and exclusive product
(including own brands) to enhance our product proposition to address more
styles, trends and categories
• Driving store productivity & optimisation: accelerate Finish Line and City
Gear conversions in the US; 'fewer, bigger, better' formats in the UK;
significant steps underway to address under-performing stores in Central &
Eastern Europe and North America
• Completing our global e‑commerce re‑platforming: FY26 saw successful
roll-out of new global e-commerce platforms in North America, South-East Asia
and Italy; rest of Europe and UK upgrades to complete in FY27
• Accelerating AI adoption: embedding AI culture deeper within the customer
proposition and our operating model to drive sales growth and gross margin
& opex efficiency, including enabling better discoverability and direct
purchases through agentic AI platforms
• Taking data-driven customer personalisation to the next level: leveraging data
to drive more effective customer engagement via personalisation
STRENGTHENING OUR MEDIUM-TERM FINANCIAL PRIORITIES AND CAPITAL ALLOCATION
FRAMEWORK:
Over the medium term, our financial priorities are to deliver: (i) sales
growth ahead of our markets, (ii) operating margin progression (driven by
Europe and North America), and (iii) strong free cash generation.
In support of this, we are announcing today a new 3‑year cumulative free
cash flow target of >£1.4bn over FY26 to FY28, underpinned by profit
growth, disciplined capital expenditure and strong working capital management.
Under our capital allocation framework, we will reinvest where returns are
compelling and maintain leverage headroom for future commitments. In line with
our confidence in our cash generation and our medium-term trajectory, we are
announcing today a 20% increase in the ordinary dividend with a clear
intention to grow this progressively towards a more attractive dividend yield,
and a rolling £200m annual share buyback as we deploy cash to drive improved
returns for shareholders. See page 10 for further details.
The remainder of this release consists of 3 main sections:
Contents Page(s)
Chief Executive Officer's review 4 to 11
Technical guidance for FY27, medium-term financial priorities and capital 12
allocation framework
Chief Financial Officer's review 13 to 23
Condensed consolidated financial statements 24 to 45
Embargoed until 7am BST, 7 May 2026
JD Sports Fashion plc Tel: 0161 767 1000
Régis Schultz, Chief Executive Officer
Dominic Platt, Chief Financial Officer
Maj Nazir, Group Investor Relations Director
Advisors
Bank of America - Antonia Rowan Tel: 0207 628 1000
Peel Hunt LLP - Dan Webster Tel: 0207 418 8869
Headland Consultancy - Lucy Legh, Rob Walker Tel: 0203 805 4822
Email: jdgroup@headlandconsultancy.com
(mailto:jdgroup@headlandconsultancy.com)
Footnotes
((1)) FY27 PBTAI guidance assumes FX rates of GBP-USD of 1.34 and GBP-EUR of
1.15
Alternative Performance Measures
Throughout this release, '*' indicates the first instance of use of
Alternative Performance Measures, which management believe are useful and
necessary to assist the understanding of the Group's results. Please refer to
pages 41 to 45 for further information, including reconciliations to statutory
measures where required.
Forward-looking statements
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements relating to
expected or anticipated results, performance or events. Such statements are
subject to normal risks associated with the uncertainties in our business,
supply chain and consumer demand along with risks associated with
macroeconomic, political and social factors in the markets in which we
operate. Whilst we believe that the expectations reflected herein are
reasonable based on the information we have as at the date of this
announcement, actual outcomes may vary significantly owing to factors outside
the control of the Group, such as cost of materials or demand for our
products, or within our control such as our investment decisions, allocation
of resources or changes to our plans or strategy. Neither the Group nor any
other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of, or
assumes any obligation or undertaking to revise or update, any forward-looking
statement made in this announcement to reflect new information or any changes
in events, expectations or circumstances. As such, undue reliance should not
be placed on the forward-looking statements contained within this
announcement.
Results presentation and Q&A
Régis Schultz (Group CEO) and Dominic Platt (Group CFO) will host an
in-person results presentation and Q&A for pre-registered analysts and
investors today at 08.30 (UK time). The presentation will be held at Bank of
America, 2 King Edward St, London, EC1A 1HQ.
A simultaneous live video webcast of the presentation and Q&A will also be
available, using the following link:
https://app.webinar.net/0OkN2p9Be36 (https://app.webinar.net/0OkN2p9Be36)
Post-event, a replay will be available on demand via the Investors section of
our website at www.jdplc.com/investor-relations
(http://www.jdplc.com/investor-relations) .
Financial calendar
The next scheduled events are:
21 July 2026: Annual General Meeting 2026
20 August 2026: Q2 2026/27 trading statement
23 September 2026: H1 2026/27 results
19 November 2026: Q3 2026/27 trading statement
About JD Sports Fashion plc
Founded in 1981, JD Group is a leading global omni-channel retailer of sports,
fashion and outdoor brands. With 4,811 stores across 36 countries, our fascias
- including JD, Size?, Courir, DTLR, Shoe Palace, Hibbett, Sprinter, Sport
Zone, Cosmos and Go Outdoors - deliver multi-brand and multi-category
propositions that blend agility with trend-driven innovation. We leverage our
deep understanding of our customers, close relationships with established and
emerging brands, and our exclusive product and own brands portfolio to deliver
leading-edge athleisure, performance and streetwear products that address the
very latest customer trends across footwear and apparel. We deliver this via
our customer-focused omni-channel proposition that combines vibrant,
theatrical stores - where sports fashion meets music and youth culture - with
cutting-edge digital experiences for our customers.
Our vision is to inspire the emerging generation of customers through a
connection to the universal culture of sport, music and fashion. We drive this
vision forward via our four strategic pillars: JD Brand First, first priority,
first in the world; leveraging our Complementary Concepts to support JD
Group's regional expansion; moving Beyond Physical Retail by building the
right infrastructure and creating a lifestyle ecosystem of relevant products
and services; and doing the right thing for our People, Partners &
Communities.
JD Sports Fashion plc is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index.
Chief Executive Officer's Review
In recent years, JD has transformed from a predominantly UK‑focused retailer
into a leading global sports fashion powerhouse, with a presence in 51
countries (including 15 countries where we have franchise stores).
Since joining as Group CEO three and a half years ago, we have completed a
comprehensive programme of investment, simplification and modernisation,
reflecting the rapid expansion in the scale, capability and global footprint
of the Group. We have strengthened our operational backbone through major
upgrades in supply chain and technology, enhanced governance with modern
finance and HR systems, and created a fairer and more supportive workplace -
including removing age‑based pay disparities across UK stores, and uplifting
wages in line with post‑pandemic inflation. We have also taken decisive
steps to streamline and focus our portfolio, exiting 30 businesses while
enhancing our Complementary Concepts with the acquisitions of Hibbett in North
America and Courir in Europe.
These foundations have been built during a period when industry growth slowed
from its historic levels to a more modest trajectory, shaped by macroeconomic
uncertainty and the evolution of brand partners' product cycles. As set out in
our April 2025 Strategy Update, our business has moved decisively into a new
phase, shifting our strategic focus from rapid expansion, M&A and internal
investment towards the strategic and operational fundamentals we can control:
offering a best‑in‑class customer proposition, strengthening and
diversifying our brand relationships, delivering productivity and efficiency
benefits from our investments, and generating significant free cash flow to
deliver attractive returns for our shareholders.
A resilient FY26 built on discipline and strategic progress
Against this complex backdrop, we delivered a resilient performance in FY26
with organic sales +2.1%. Free cash flow increased +36.3%, reflecting our
disciplined approach to costs and capital expenditure. I would like to thank
all colleagues for their energy and commitment throughout the year.
North America - now our largest region at 38% of sales - saw encouraging
improvement through the year, culminating in a return to LFL sales growth
during peak trading in Q426. Building on this momentum, we are increasing
marketing investment to support JD's expansion and reinforce our competitive
position in this key region.
We also made significant progress on the strategic priorities essential to
JD's long‑term success. We launched automation at our Heerlen distribution
centre, a major step in transforming store replenishment for JD Europe. We
advanced our global e‑commerce re‑platforming, with full roll-out to
Europe and the UK to follow later in 2026. These investments address legacy
constraints and create the modern infrastructure required for a business of
our scale.
Strengthening our customer proposition and multi‑brand model
One of JD's defining strengths is the deep understanding of our core customer,
and throughout the year we remained focused on translating that insight into a
compelling customer proposition. We continued to evolve our multi‑brand
assortment with the latest and most exclusive athleisure, performance and
streetwear products, enhanced our UK store footprint through 'fewer, bigger,
better' formats, and strengthened our omni‑channel capabilities. We also
improved supply chain efficiency to ensure strong product availability and
faster fulfilment.
By staying close to both customers and brand partners, and leveraging our own
brand capability, we believe we can continue to lead with the right products,
in the right places and at the right prices. Our multi‑brand model, rooted
in agility, disciplined execution and a clear strategic focus, position us
well to navigate near‑term pressures while capturing medium‑term
opportunities.
FY27: execution focus and cash discipline - with strategic acceleration
Looking to the year ahead, while near‑term consumer and industry indicators
mean that we anticipate overall market growth to remain muted, we remain
confident in the medium‑term trajectory for the JD Group. Building on the
discipline and resilience of last year, FY27 represents a year in which we
will advance several key strategic initiatives at pace:
• Strengthening and diversifying our product range
• Driving store productivity & optimisation
• Completing our global e commerce re-platforming
• Accelerating AI adoption
• Taking data-driven customer personalisation to the next level
The delivery of meaningful cost efficiencies also remains a core focus,
including but not limited to the annualisation of US integration synergies and
starting to unwind supply chain and technology double‑running costs in
Europe. We will maintain disciplined capex and strong working capital
management to support significant cash generation.
A compelling investment proposition to deliver attractive shareholder returns
Our equity story is built on fundamentals that position JD Group to outperform
even in a more moderate growth environment: a global footprint in structurally
attractive markets, multiple levers to drive sustained sales growth, an agile
multi‑brand model, a distinctive omni-channel ecosystem and a significant
runway for operational efficiency. Critically, our strengthened model is
generating significant free cash flow. With this stronger foundation, we
expect to continue enhancing shareholder returns, including the proposed FY26
ordinary dividend increase and progressive policy and our rolling annual share
buyback programme.
·
Review of FY26 performance
For the year to 31 January 2026, we achieved total sales of £12,662m, +11.7%
at constant FX rates and +10.5% at reported rates. Excluding the two
businesses acquired in the prior year, organic sales growth was +2.1% at
constant FX rates, which includes a +4.2% benefit to sales from net new space
opened across the Group. We believe this is at least in line with the growth
of our addressable markets. Group LFL sales were -2.1%.
The reported gross margin % for the Group in FY26 was flat YoY at 47.0% (FY25
restated: 47.0%). Throughout the year, the Group made controlled price
investments, particularly in the online offer, to boost competitivity and stay
close to fast-changing consumer dynamics. The underlying impact of these
investments on our gross margin % (approximately -30bps, net) was offset by
higher marketing contributions YoY.
Operating profit before adjusting items and after interest on lease
liabilities of £886m (FY25: £937m) was -4.0% at constant FX rates and -5.4%
on a reported currency basis, driven by higher operating costs and interest on
lease liabilities. While operating costs were +14.6% YoY at constant FX rates,
this was driven by the impact of costs related to organic new stores and the
annualisation of costs related to Hibbett and Courir. Excluding these items,
operating costs were +0.4% YoY. Profit before tax and adjusting items was
£852m (FY25: £923m), -6.4% at constant FX rates and -7.7% at reported rates.
We are a highly cash generative business, with operating cash flow (net of
lease repayments) of £1,309m in FY26, +3.3% YoY (FY25: £1,267m), which we
believe is a close cash proxy for EBITDA on an IAS 17 basis. After cash
outflows mainly consisting of changes in working capital, capital expenditure
and tax payments, we generated free cash flow of £462m in the year (FY25:
£339m) supported by cost and capital discipline. As of 31 January 2026, we
had net cash (before lease liabilities) on our balance sheet of £311m (FY25:
£52m), and net leverage including lease liabilities of 1.4x (FY25: 1.7x).
Sales by region
Total sales below (in £m) include a full year of results from Hibbett and
Courir (JD Group completed the acquisition of Hibbett on 25 July 2024, and
Courir on 27 November 2024). Organic sales growth excludes acquisitions and
disposals, and is calculated at constant FX rates.
FY26: 52 weeks to 31 January 2026
Total sales (£m) Like-for-like Organic
North America* 4,779 (1.8)% +3.2%
Europe 4,246 (1.2)% +4.2%
UK 3,110 (3.9)% (2.5)%
Asia Pacific 527 +0.4% +8.5%
Group 12,662 (2.1)% +2.1%
* North America excluding Finish Line LFL sales: +1.2%
Sales by segment
FY26: 52 weeks to 31 January 2026
Total sales (£m) Like-for-like Organic
JD* 7,945 (2.8)% +2.9%
Complementary Athleisure 3,208 (1.0)% +0.7%
Sporting Goods & Outdoor 1,509 - +0.2%
Group 12,662 (2.1)% +2.1%
* JD excluding Finish Line LFL sales: (1.5)%
Regional commentary
North America, our largest region at 38% of Group sales (FY25: 37%), delivered
an improving performance through the year, supported by disciplined execution
against its trading plans and strong online sales growth. While footwear was
mixed overall due to softness in several end‑of‑cycle product lines, this
was partially offset by strong momentum in running as well as several
successful retro basketball product launches. Furthermore, organic apparel
sales increased by c.22% YoY, the best performance across all our regions.
Online sales grew strongly throughout the year, with organic sales +12.2%,
reflecting improved online ranging and technology platforms, targeted
marketing and controlled price investments. The phased conversion of Finish
Line stores to JD continued, with promotional intensity at this fascia
remaining elevated through the year. Overall, North America delivered organic
sales growth of +3.2% and LFL sales of -1.8%. Excluding the standalone Finish
Line business, North America LFL sales were +1.2%.
Europe, representing 33% of Group sales (FY25: 31%), delivered a resilient
performance with organic sales growth of +4.2% and LFL sales of -1.2%. The
region saw continued good performances across our sporting goods businesses
(ISRG and Cosmos), and a resilient performance across JD. Organic apparel
sales in the region continued to grow, up by c.10% YoY. Organic online sales
saw good growth of +3.8%, helped by expanded ship‑from‑store capabilities
and controlled price investments in the online offer.
The UK, at 25% of Group sales (FY25: 28%), saw weak sales trends at both JD
and our Outdoor business against a tough consumer backdrop, particularly in
the online channel (where a higher proportion of our UK sales are derived
relative to other regions). Store sales were supported by strong conversion
despite lower footfall. Organic sales - the most relevant measure in this
market given our ongoing transition to 'fewer, bigger, better' JD stores -
were down for the year at -2.5%. This was largely driven by softness in
footwear linked to end‑of‑cycle product lines and tough comparatives in
athletic footwear for women. Apparel, particularly womenswear and outerwear,
delivered a more resilient underlying performance (notwithstanding tough
comparatives due to the Euro 2024 football tournament). JD Gyms continued its
strong momentum, surpassing 100 sites and attracting record peak sign‑ups
despite a more competitive market.
Asia Pacific, representing 4% of Group sales (FY25: 4%), delivered growth
across the year, with broad‑based strength in footwear, apparel and online
(the latter supported by the successful roll-out of a new e-commerce platform
in South-East Asia). The region exited the year with positive LFL momentum.
Overall, Asia Pacific delivered organic sales growth of +8.5% and LFL sales of
+0.4%.
Store footprint
We ended FY26 with 4,811 stores worldwide in 36 countries, compared with 4,850
at the start of the financial year. Across all fascias, 289 stores were opened
and 325 stores were closed (openings and closures include 58 store
relocations). Three stores were disposed of within our Outdoor business as we
continued to optimise our store portfolio.
In addition to the store numbers in the table below, the Group operates 102 JD
Gyms sites in the UK (FY25: 92), and 75 franchised stores for the JD brand and
Courir (FY25: 58).
Overall, JD Group is present via its own operations in 36 countries, with a
franchise presence in a further 15 countries.
Store numbers Stores as of 1 Feb 2025 Openings Closures Transfers Disposals Stores as of 31 Jan 2026
(excludes JD Gyms and franchise stores)
JD North America 339 67 (1) 41 - 446
Finish Line 257 - (42) (41) - 174
Macy's 256 - (2) - - 254
JD Europe 638 68 (20) 3 - 689
JD United Kingdom 434 17 (41) - - 410
JD Asia Pacific 102 13 - - - 115
JD 2,026 165 (106) 3 - 2,088
DTLR 251 13 (15) 169 - 418
Shoe Palace 202 18 (4) 29 - 245
Hibbett 999 44 (61) - - 982
City Gear 200 - (2) (198) - -
Courir 300 20 (7) - - 313
Eastern Europe 269 5 (96) (3) - 175
Complementary Athleisure 2,221 100 (185) (3) - 2,133
ISRG 291 13 (4) - - 300
Cosmos 81 5 (1) - - 85
Outdoor 231 6 (29) - (3) 205
Sporting Goods & Outdoor 603 24 (34) - (3) 590
Grand Total 4,850 289 (325) - (3) 4,811
Channel commentary
Delivering a world-class omni-channel experience for our customer remains one
of our top priorities:
• Sales from our 4,811 stores worldwide were 78% (FY25: 78%) of Group sales in
FY26, at £9.9bn (+12.6% at constant FX rates). Organic store sales were +2.2%
YoY, with LFL -3.4%.
• Online sales, which include click-and-collect orders and home delivery orders
shipped from store, were 21% (FY25: 21%) of Group sales in FY26, at £2.6bn
(+8.0% at constant FX rates). Organic online sales were +1.2% YoY.
• Other sales, mainly related to JD Gyms memberships in the UK, were 1% (FY25:
1%) of Group sales in FY26.
Category commentary
Our business model is underpinned by our strong, agile and multi-brand
assortment of products, delivering a 'head-to-toe' shopping experience for our
customers.
Throughout FY26 we saw a significant shift in the global footwear product
cycle, given the transition between (smaller) newer product lines and (larger)
'end of cycle' product lines of some of our brand partners. Notwithstanding
this, we saw strong growth across brands less affected by transition, which
reflects the benefit of our agile, multi-brand model. The early signals for
new franchises (in terms of both product launches and the pipeline) are
encouraging, particularly in the running category. Although small today, these
present an exciting longer-term opportunity for the Group.
The evolution of the apparel product cycle is very different compared with
footwear. Our apparel proposition is in excellent shape, and we believe there
is significant scope to leverage this for growth, particularly in North
America where our apparel mix is relatively low compared to other regions.
Our sales mix is as follows:
• 60% footwear (FY25: 60%), with organic sales flat YoY. Footwear sales as a
proportion of overall Group sales held steady at 60%, due to the category mix
impact of Hibbett and Courir (both acquired in the prior year) being more
footwear-centric than other JD Group fascias.
• 30% apparel (FY25: 31%), with organic sales c.+5% YoY. Apparel sales as a
proportion of overall Group sales reduced slightly to 30% due to the category
mix impact noted above. In FY26 we saw good underlying apparel sales growth,
driven by North America and Europe, supported by a strong product offer which
continues to diversify as our fascias react to ever-changing consumer fashion
trends. The growing depth of our brand partnerships is supplemented by our own
brands, which represent c.15% of our apparel sales, and enable us to
supplement our apparel proposition by bringing new ranges to market quickly.
• 7% accessories (FY25: 6%), with organic sales c.+11% YoY primarily driven by
strong growth in our Sporting Goods businesses.
• 3% other (FY25: 3%), with organic sales c.-1% YoY. 'Other' includes outdoor
living equipment and JD Gyms memberships.
Good progress against our strategic objectives in FY26 & our priorities
for FY27
Our strategy is based on four pillars: JD Brand First, Complementary
Concepts, Beyond Physical Retail and People, Partners & Communities.
Through FY26 we executed with discipline across each pillar, strengthening the
Group's operational backbone, sharpening our customer proposition, and
creating a more resilient platform for growth. JD Brand First keeps the JD
fascia at the forefront of athleisure, performance and streetwear globally;
Complementary Concepts broadens our reach across customers, geographies and
categories; Beyond Physical Retail scales the technology and supply chain
infrastructure we have built over the last three and a half years, which
underpins the ongoing development of our omni-channel model; and People,
Partners & Communities reflects our commitment to do the right thing by
our colleagues, brand partners and the communities where we operate, supported
by robust governance and control.
The Group is focused on driving sales growth, strengthened profitability,
strong cash generation, and attractive shareholder returns. During the year we
continued to optimise our multi‑brand footwear and apparel assortments,
leveraging globally consistent merchandising, richer customer insights and
clearer brand storytelling. In stores, our distinctive 'JD theatre' elevated
partner narratives and newness; online, new e-commerce platforms in key
markets reduced friction and improved discovery and conversion, underpinning a
more compelling omni-channel experience.
JD Brand First
The JD brand has a strong position globally, with its brand awareness
continuing to grow in key growth markets (such as North America and
continental Europe). We have a deep, unrivalled understanding of our core
customer demographic - 16 to 24-year olds - together with long-term
partnerships with the leading brands in athleisure, performance and
streetwear, capitalising on over 40 years of industry experience. And we have
a consistent, global framework for the JD fascia; it is adapted according to
local customer needs, and leverages our growing own brands portfolio as well
as partnerships with local and emerging brands.
In FY26 we opened 62 net new JD stores, taking the total JD portfolio to 2,088
globally as we continued to grow JD's international store footprint. 80% of
JD's stores are outside of the UK in our key growth markets of North America,
Europe and Asia Pacific. We follow a disciplined approach to capital
investment for new stores and, outside of strategic investments in flagships,
we look for a payback on investment of less than three years.
Highlights in FY26 included:
• In North America, JD saw 107 net store openings including conversions. JD's
brand awareness strengthened in the US, where trends improved through the year
with a return to LFL sales growth during peak trading. Against a tough market
backdrop, this progress reflected better product storytelling (including
performance-based running and selected retro basketball launches), a
materially improved e-commerce experience following the technology
re‑platforming at JD and Finish Line earlier in the year, and sharper
marketing activations to connect with our core customer. We also advanced the
ongoing Finish Line to JD conversion programme (69 conversions including 28
relocations, and 14 closures of standalone Finish Line stores) and opened
select flagships (in Las Vegas and Vancouver), taking JD's store footprint in
North America to 446 by year‑end. This count excludes 174 remaining
standalone Finish Line stores in the US, and 254 Finish Line corners within
Macy's department stores (also in the US, which are unaffected by the
wind-down of standalone Finish Line stores).
• In Europe, JD opened 51 net new stores including conversions, with a focus on
Italy, Poland and Spain. JD delivered a resilient performance against a tough
market and competitive backdrop, and varying country dynamics. We maintained
our focus on widening our product assortment, space productivity and
full‑price sell‑through, supported by deeper use of omni-channel levers
such as ship‑from‑store and click‑and‑collect where appropriate. Store
presentation and brand theatre remained a priority in key doors, while
assortment agility helped us navigate a mixed footwear cycle and support
apparel momentum.
• In the UK, JD exited a net of 24 stores. With a leading market position, but a
more mature estate, we continued our targeted estate optimisation approach,
centred around 'fewer, bigger, better' stores. As a result, despite the lower
store count, net selling space for JD UK increased by c.4% in FY26. We
leveraged lease flexibility to right-size or relocate to higher‑productivity
destinations (including retail parks), consolidated selectively where
economics were weaker, and invested in a small number of destination stores to
anchor regional presence and elevate brand expression - exemplified by the
strong opening of our Trafford Centre flagship in Manchester, JD's largest
store globally. This programme, which is iterative and data‑led, is designed
to raise sales productivity per store and sharpen the brand proposition in
each catchment over time.
• In Asia Pacific, JD opened 13 new stores in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand
and Malaysia, including a flagship store in Melbourne, extending our reach in
the region. Execution improved with better access to exclusives, a more agile
marketing mix, and a step‑change in peak fulfilment from our automated DC in
Australia. The region exited the year with positive LFL sales momentum and
continued to build share in targeted categories and demographics.
• To further grow the JD brand in other strategic markets, we have made great
strides in developing our franchise model. The advantages of this model
include collaborating with our experienced partners to leverage their local
knowledge and relationships, while also benefiting from low capital
expenditure requirements. As of year-end we had 42 JD brand franchise stores
(FY25: 23), comprising eight franchise stores in the Middle East, eight in
South Africa, and 23 in Indonesia. We also signed a franchise agreement in the
Philippines in March 2025, opening three stores in FY26. We remain committed
to exploring further opportunities in other new and fast-growing markets
across the world.
• Looking ahead to FY27: We will (i) reinforce JD's growing brand awareness in
North America with targeted investments to lift and generate additional
awareness and grow conversion, (ii) elevate womenswear and overall apparel
sales penetration in stores and regions where under‑represented, (iii)
complete the remaining productive standalone Finish Line store conversions to
JD (approximately half of the 174 remaining), and (iv) keep a disciplined
focus on store productivity and, in the UK, 'fewer, bigger, better' locations
- investing where returns are proven, and optimising in locations where
economics are less compelling. In Europe, we have refined our plan for the JD
fascia and will direct future investment on the countries where we see most
runway for profitable growth - being France, Iberia, Italy, Benelux, Ireland,
Greece and Poland - where we have a leading market position to drive scale,
efficiency and profitability. We have commenced a restructuring programme in
Germany, and will also optimise and improve JD's operations in Eastern Europe.
Complementary Concepts
Our complementary athleisure concepts extend our reach within the global
sports fashion market, driving broader customer penetration. These include
Hibbett, DTLR and Shoe Palace in North America, together with our businesses
in Europe - MIG (Eastern Europe) and Courir. In addition, we also operate
sporting goods businesses through ISRG (Sprinter in Spain and Sport Zone in
Portugal) and Cosmos (Greece and Cyprus), as well as our outdoor businesses in
the UK (including Go Outdoors, Blacks and Millets).
In FY26 we exited a net of 101 stores, taking the total Complementary Concepts
portfolio to 2,723 globally.
Highlights in FY26 included:
• In North America, integration work across Hibbett and our other fascias
including JD progressed well, supported by procurement, technology and supply
chain & logistics efficiencies. We are on track to deliver annualised cost
synergies of over US$25m across FY26 and FY27. We advanced the transfer of
City Gear (acquired alongside Hibbett in 2024) to DTLR and Shoe Palace,
simplifying the portfolio and sharpening each fascia's role. Together with JD
and our Finish Line corners within Macy's, the North American portfolio spans
a complementary mix of formats - from flagship malls to community locations -
allowing us to serve a broad range of geographies and demographics with
differentiated propositions. During the year, our fascias leaned into more
brands, more styles and trends (e.g., more performance and streetwear apparel)
to balance category exposure, and also drove more data‑informed assortment
and allocation decisions by door.
• In Europe, Courir added significant insight into female sneaker preferences
across multiple markets and broadened our addressable customer base, while
maintaining omni-channel breadth and disciplined ranging in a more promotional
environment. Courir's performance since acquisition in November 2024 has been
resilient but challenged, given the tough market backdrop (especially in its
home market of France) and strong comparatives in women's footwear. We see the
potential to further develop Courir in Europe by leveraging our existing
infrastructure and, during the year, the business successfully entered Italy,
with five stores in operation as of year-end. Our Sporting Goods businesses -
ISRG (Iberia) and Cosmos (Greece and Cyprus) - provided diversification and
stability, seeing resilient demand in FY26 across family and performance
categories as well as attractive, measured new‑store economics, supporting
selective expansion. During the year we commenced a programme to focus and
improve our Eastern Europe (MIG) operations.
• In the UK, our Outdoor business navigated a tough trading environment. The
business re‑platformed its core websites at pace (helping to restore online
growth), improved its stock health and commenced portfolio simplification, all
contributing to a more robust operational footing for FY27.
• Looking ahead to FY27: Our focus within Complementary Concepts is on targeted
portfolio actions that strengthen returns and simplify execution. We will (i)
commence a programme to raise Hibbett's sales productivity through optimising
its store footprint, (ii) accelerate the conversion of City Gear into DTLR and
Shoe Palace, building on the encouraging progress to-date, (iii) advance the
improvement of our operations in Eastern Europe (MIG), and (iv) advance the
simplification of our Outdoor business portfolio in the UK.
Beyond Physical Retail
We made solid progress in FY26 in modernising the Group's supply chain,
technology and data backbone to support faster and more consistent innovation,
and better customer outcomes. Highlights included:
• In North America, we re-platformed our e-commerce channels for JD and Finish
Line in the US earlier in FY26. Feedback from the deployment highlighted
tangible improvements in site speed, search and campaign tagging, enabling
quicker iteration and better measurement. The plan remains for the UK and the
rest of Europe (with Italy also having gone live in FY26) to complete
migrations later in FY27.
• We shifted artificial intelligence (AI) from enablement to practical
deployment and utilisation across the Group, focusing on initiatives that
enhance the customer proposition, sharpen decision‑making and drive
efficiency. During the year, we laid the foundations to enable customers in
the US to discover and purchase JD products directly through AI platforms such
as Copilot, Gemini and ChatGPT, while also investing in the optimisation of
our content to improve JD's discoverability within these environments as
AI‑led shopping journeys begin to scale. Furthermore, teams across the
business applied AI to priority use cases, including improving store traffic
and conversion, optimising merchandising decisions (such as stock rebalancing
and markdown timing), reducing returns through better size and fit
recommendations, and automating manual activity across functions including
finance, HR, property and customer service. Many of these initiatives are
already live or in pilot, aiming to deliver tangible benefits through improved
availability, sharper ranging and pricing decisions, faster fulfilment, lower
operating costs and improved productivity.
• In supply chain, we are starting to see improved store replenishment speed and
inventory productivity for JD Europe, following the ramp-up of automation at
our new Heerlen distribution centre (DC) in the Netherlands. Our temporary DC
in Belgium closed at the end of January 2026. In APAC, our fully automated
Leppington DC supported stronger peak performance, improving stock
availability in store and setting the foundation for further cost efficiency
as volumes scale. North America continued evolving towards multi‑fascia
capabilities (at both Morgan Hill and Alabaster), enabling improvements in
speed for store replenishment and online fulfilment. These upgrades enabled us
to expand ship‑from‑store and enhance click‑and‑collect performance
across several markets, improving convenience while unlocking levers for
improved inventory turns.
• In data and loyalty, we focused on scaling JD STATUS across our regions in
FY26. The programme has 9.4m active members globally, with very strong
engagement in the US where 5.7m active members generated c.40% of omni-channel
sales for JD and Finish Line, and delivered +21% higher sales value compared
to non‑members. In the UK and Europe, 3.7m active members generated around
approximately one third of sales, delivering +25% higher sales value compared
to non-members. In the UK, where we are at our most advanced on the STATUS
programme, tests of personalisation and targeted campaign activity in FY26
showed strong early results.
• Looking ahead to FY27: Our priorities centre on accelerating our global
digital and operational development. We will (i) extend our e‑commerce
re‑platforming programme to the UK and the wider JD Europe region, building
on the successful launches in North America, South-East Asia and Italy, (ii)
scale the most impactful AI initiatives at pace, embedding AI into
day‑to‑day ways of working, and delivering measurable improvements in
sales, gross margin and opex efficiency, (iii) advance supply chain
modernisation through the continued ramp‑up of automation in our new Heerlen
DC (as a reminder, we expect over £20m of cost benefits across FY27 and FY28
as technology and supply chain double‑running costs unwind), and (iv)
accelerate the use of our strengthened data assets to enhance customer
segmentation, sharpen targeting and personalisation, and drive more
disciplined commercial execution.
People, Partners & Communities
We continued to strengthen our people foundation and community impact in FY26,
focusing on colleague engagement & inclusion, community programmes and
environmental progress across our global footprint. Highlights included:
• Colleague engagement and capability: Our c.96k colleagues across the world are
central to JD's performance and culture. Adoption of JD Now, our global
communications platform, now exceeds 90% across deployed markets, improving
operational rhythm and knowledge‑sharing in a youthful workforce, where 73%
of colleagues are under the age of 30. We also advanced the roll-out of new HR
Information Systems, simplifying processes, widening access to learning
resources, and building a more consistent people experience.
• Inclusion and workforce representation: Our inclusion approach continued to
mature and improve, as measured by our third global annual engagement survey
carried out in October 2025. For example, "I can be myself at work" scores
rose from 82% (FY24) to 89% (FY26). We deepened our work on 'women in retail
leadership', aiming to remove gender bias in job adverts, and better catering
towards a multi‑generational workforce. Neuro‑inclusion became a major
focus given rising Gen Z self‑identification and its relevance across our
demographic profile. A global neuro-diversity toolkit will roll out from Q127
across all our regions.
• Community impact: Our immersive and industry-leading careers experience, JD
UP, which gives young people insights into the different roles that make up a
global retailer, expanded its reach in FY26, hosting its first European
careers event in Madrid with over 2,500 young people attending. For our
flagship event in Manchester in February 2026, we engaged over 10,000 young
people, supported by over 500 colleagues from the UK, Europe and North
America. We also marked 10 years of the JD Foundation in the UK, raising
£500k at the anniversary gala. In the US, the JD Finish Line Foundation
delivered a record US$925k through its Back-to-School campaign, supporting
education, sport and mentoring programmes nationally.
• Environment and climate progress: We again achieved CDP 'A List' status and
secured an 'A' rating on the CDP Supplier Engagement Assessment, reflecting
ongoing leadership in transparency and value‑chain climate action. We
extended our renewable‑energy procurement to Australia and Greece and
maintained Zero Waste to Landfill accreditation at our largest UK and southern
European DC and office locations, evidencing continued progress in waste
reduction and recycling.
• Looking ahead to FY27: Our priorities are to (i) embed our inclusion agenda
more deeply with a global neuro‑inclusion focus, supported by new toolkits
and expanded data gathering, (ii) continue to scale youth and community
programmes in key regions, particularly through JD UP, and (iii) strengthen
global consistency in our people approach by aligning inclusion frameworks
across our regions, and improving measurement to drive clearer accountability.
Updated capital allocation framework, and returns to shareholders
The Board recognises the Group's strong and increasingly cash generative
profile, and has therefore updated its capital allocation framework to reflect
its ongoing commitment to provide sustainable, attractive returns to
shareholders. Supported by a strong balance sheet and a disciplined approach
to net leverage, targeting levels broadly in line with investment grade
standards, our capital allocation priorities are to:
• Reinvest in the business where economic returns are attractive: to organic
and/or 'bolt-on' inorganic growth opportunities that accelerate our strategy.
Capital expenditure for organic investment is expected to normalise between
c.3% to 3.5% of sales over the medium term.
• Maintain leverage headroom: to meet future obligations, including settlement
of the Genesis put/call option in FY30/FY31.
• Pay a dividend: progressive, sustainable ordinary dividend growth, moving over
time towards a more attractive dividend yield.
• Buy back shares: deploy surplus cash to share buybacks via a rolling annual
share buyback programme of £200m.
Ordinary dividend: Reflecting the framework above, and in line with our
confidence in our cash generation and our medium-term trajectory, the Board
has proposed a final dividend per share of 0.87 pence per share (FY25 final
dividend: 0.67 pence per share). This results in a proposed total dividend per
share of 1.20 pence per share in respect of FY26, which is 20% higher than the
prior year (FY25: 1.00 pence per share).
The final dividend is subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General
Meeting on 21 July 2026. If approved, it will be paid on 31 July 2026 to
shareholders on the register at close of business on 3 July 2026. The shares
will go ex-dividend on 2 July 2026.
Share buybacks: The move to a rolling £200m annual buyback recognises our
strong free cash flow generation, and our confidence in its continued
strength.
In addition to the ordinary dividend and the first £200m buyback programme
(completed in December 2025), we commenced another £200m share buyback
programme on 23 February 2026, the first £100m tranche of which is expected
to complete in H127.
Q127 trading update
For the 12 weeks to 25 April 2026, organic sales were flat YoY, with a
+2.3%pts contribution from net new space, while LFL sales declined by 2.3%.
Note that Q1 typically carries the lowest sales weighting to our financial
year. Even so, we delivered well around important consumer and product moments
including Eid, Easter, US tax refund season and key product launches,
underscoring our ability to capture spend when it matters most.
Weather affected performance earlier in the quarter, with wet conditions in
Southern Europe and the UK, and a severe cold snap in the US. Trading
strengthened through March with a solid performance over Eid, supported by the
successful delivery of new product launches. Trading in April was volatile,
particularly in Europe and the UK, with a solid performance over Easter but
lower footfall throughout the remainder of the month, partially offset by
stronger in-store conversion and online sales. Apparel sales continue to be
solid across the Group, outperforming footwear.
The Group's gross margin % for Q127 is in line with our expectations and
qualitative guidance for FY27 outlined below.
Q127: 12 weeks to 25 April
Organic Like-for-like
North America* +1.4% (0.6)%
Europe (0.8)% (4.2)%
UK (3.6)% (4.0)%
Asia Pacific +12.9% +5.2%
Group Flat (2.3)%
* North America excluding Finish Line Q127 LFL sales: +0.4%
Outlook and FY27 guidance
JD has emerged from FY26 with a stronger operational backbone, clearer
strategic focus and the discipline needed to navigate a tougher industry
backdrop. The resilience we delivered this year - through cost control, core
execution and meaningful progress on our strategic priorities - gives us the
platform to further advance our business in FY27.
As set out in our April 2025 Strategy Update, we continue to believe that the
markets in which we operate are positioned for average annual medium‑term
growth of 2-3%. However, in the near term, the facts and indicators available
to us today point to a period of muted market growth in FY27, shaped by a
weaker spending outlook for our core customer demographic and ongoing product
cycle evolution at some of our major brand partners, particularly in footwear.
The Board is also mindful of broader external forces that could influence
near-term market growth, including the evolving geopolitical and macroeconomic
environment and their potential impact on consumer finances and/or sentiment.
While the Group has no direct exposure to the Middle East (with only a very
limited number of franchise stores in the region) and there has been no
material business impact to date, we continue to monitor the situation
closely. Over time, the potential future impacts of heightened uncertainty may
contribute to direct cost pressures, including energy and fuel costs across
our store and logistics networks, respectively, as well as potential indirect
impacts on pricing and consumer demand should input cost inflation emerge.
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 profit before tax and adjusting items of £750m to £850m in
FY27, and free cash flow of £460m to £520m.
Against this backdrop, much remains within our control. Consistent with the
approach outlined in our FY27 framework in January 2026, we are focused on
'controlling the controllables' and advancing our key strategic priorities at
pace. In FY27:
• We are accelerating initiatives across marketing, ranging, store footprint
optimisation, digital, AI adoption, and data and loyalty to further strengthen
our customer proposition and sharpen execution.
• We will maintain our core trading discipline, while continuing to implement
controlled price investments (weighted more towards H127) to stay closely
aligned with short‑term consumer and market dynamics.
• We will sustain our sharp focus on cost efficiency and productivity, aiming to
significantly offset underlying LFL opex increases in FY27.
• We expect the Group to continue generating significant free cash flow,
supported by disciplined capex and strong working capital management.
Taken together, these actions ensure we remain well placed to outperform even
in a more moderate growth environment, leveraging our strengthened operating
model, globally diversified footprint and multi-brand agility.
For further technical guidance on FY27, please refer to page 12.
Régis Schultz
Group Chief Executive Officer
6 May 2026
TECHNICAL GUIDANCE FOR FY27, MEDIUM-TERM FINANCIAL PRIORITIES AND CAPITAL
ALLOCATION FRAMEWORK
Please read the cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements set
out on page 3 of this document.
FY27 guidance
• New space impact (net) on sales of c.+2% to +3% (FY26: +4.2%)
• Profit before tax and adjusting items (PBTAI) of £750m to £850m((1)) (FY26:
£852m)
• Gross capital expenditure of c.£400m (FY26: £401m)
• Free cash flow of £460m to £520m (FY26: £462m)
• Share buybacks of £200m (first tranche of £100m commenced on 23 February
2026)
• Translation FX: a one US cent move YoY impacts FY PBTAI by c.£3m and a one
Euro cent move YoY impacts FY PBTAI by c.£2m
Medium-term financial priorities
· Grow sales ahead of our markets:
- Driven by LFL and the contribution from net new space, with the latter at
c.+2%pts to +3%pts over the medium term
· Operating margin progression:
- Targeting operating margin((2)) progression, driven by Europe and North
America, and supported by multi-year operating cost efficiency programmes and
operating cost leverage
· Strong cash generation to drive growth investment and attractive
shareholder returns:
- Targeting 3-year cumulative free cash flow over FY26 to FY28 of >£1.4bn,
supported by profit growth, disciplined capex (with gross capex trending down
to c.3% to 3.5% of total sales per annum) and strong working capital
management
Capital allocation framework
• Reinvest in the business where economic returns are attractive: to organic
and/or 'bolt-on' inorganic growth opportunities that accelerate our strategy.
Capital expenditure for organic investment is expected to normalise between
c.3% to 3.5% of sales over the medium term.
• Maintain leverage headroom: to meet future obligations, including settlement
of the Genesis put/call option in FY30/FY31.
• Pay a dividend: progressive, sustainable ordinary dividend growth, moving over
time towards a more attractive dividend yield.
• Buy back shares: deploy surplus cash to share buybacks via a rolling annual
share buyback programme of £200m.
Footnotes
((1)) FY27 PBTAI guidance assumes FX rates of GBP-USD of 1.34 and GBP-EUR of
1.15
((2)) Operating margin % before adjusting items, after interest on lease
liabilities
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERS STATEMENT
Financial Performance Report
FY26 is a 52-week period ended 31 January 2026. FY25 is a 52-week period
ended 1 February 2025.
Financial Performance
£m 52 weeks Restated((1)) Reported FX Constant FX
Change
2026 52 weeks change
2025
Revenue 12,662 11,458 10.5% 11.7%
Gross profit before adjusting items* 5,951 5,381 10.6% 11.8%
Gross margin before adjusting items* 47.0% 47.0% - -
Operating costs before adjusting items* (4,916) (4,332) 13.5% 14.6%
Operating profit before adjusting items 1,035 1,049 (1.3%) 0.1%
Interest on lease liabilities (149) (112) 33.0% 34.2%
Operating profit before adjusting items after interest on 886 937 (5.4%) (4.0%)
lease liabilities*
Operating margin before adjusting items after interest on 7.0% 8.2% (120)bps (110)bps
lease liabilities*
Net finance expense excluding interest on lease liabilities (34) (14) 143% 162%
Profit before tax and adjusting items* 852 923 (7.7%) (6.4%)
Adjusting items (223) (208) 7.2%
Profit before tax 629 715 (12.0%)
Operating profit 787 903 (12.8%)
(1) For the prior financial period ended 1 February 2025, balances have been
restated to reflect classification adjustments between cost of sales and
selling and distribution expenses, resulting in a net £91m increase in cost
of sales, with a corresponding decrease in selling and distribution expenses.
Please refer to Note 12 for further details of the restatement.
Throughout this release,'*' indicates the use of Alternative Performance
Measures. Please refer to pages 41 to 45 for further information including
reconciliations to statutory measures.
Consolidated Income Statement
Revenue
Group Revenue increased by 10.5% to £12,662m (FY25: £11,458m). At constant
FX rates, revenue grew 11.7%. Organic sales growth* of 2.1% reflected 4.2%
growth from net new store space offset by a 2.1% decline in like-for-like*
('LFL') revenue. In addition to the contribution from organic growth, 9.7% of
the uplift arose due to the full year impact of the Hibbett (£583m) and
Courir (£524m) acquisitions completed in the prior year. This was partly
offset by a 0.2% reduction in revenue following the disposal of a non-core
business.
Store revenue increased by 12.6% (at constant FX rates) with organic store
growth* of 2.2%. This was driven by the continued expansion of our store
estate in North America and Europe, partially offset by softer trading
conditions in the UK. Online revenue increased by 8.0% (at constant FX rates)
with strong growth across key fascias in North America and Europe,
strengthened by sustained investment in technology platforms and omni-channel
ranging. Total store revenue accounted for 78% of Group revenue (FY25: 78%)
and online for 20.8% (FY25: 21.4%), with year-on-year mix reflecting
acquisitions of businesses with lower online penetration.
From a category perspective footwear represented 60% of revenue, apparel 30%
and accessories 10%. Footwear growth trailed the Group's 2.1% organic revenue
rate, reflecting a more subdued global footwear cycle, although the overall
share remained at 60%, supported by full year contribution from Hibbett and
Courir, which are more footwear-centric than other fascias.
Apparel delivered growth (exc Hibbett and Courir) of 4.9%, ahead of the
Group's organic rate, underscoring the strength and relevance of our apparel
proposition, driven by own brand and fleece categories in North America, and
strong women's performance in Europe. This performance reinforces the broad
appeal of our proposition and demonstrates our strengthening apparel momentum,
offsetting a softer global footwear cycle.
Notwithstanding the strong growth in apparel, the overall mix of categories
remained constant year on year, reflecting a full year contribution from
Hibbett and Courir, which are more footwear-centric than other fascias.
Gross Margin before Adjusting Items*
Total gross margin before adjusting items* was flat at 47.0% (FY25: 47.0%).
Throughout the year, the Group made controlled price investments, particularly
in the online offer, to remain competitive and stay close to fast-changing
consumer dynamics. The impact of these investments on our gross margin is
-30bps, which was offset by higher marketing contributions year on year. While
recognised within gross margin for accounting purposes, these contributions
are managed operationally to support marketing investment within operating
expenses.
Operating Costs before Adjusting Items*
Operating costs before adjusting items* increased 13.5% to £4,916m. Excluding
the impact of acquisitions and disposals and newly opened stores, and at
constant FX rates, costs grew 0.4%.
On an underlying basis, with marketing contributions netted off against
marketing costs rather than recognised within cost of sales, operating
expenses were down 0.2%.
Despite a backdrop of significant cost inflation, particularly across people,
property and distribution, we have been able to mitigate the impact through
disciplined cost management. This includes labour efficiencies delivered
across both stores and head office, supported by improved scheduling and
productivity initiatives. In addition, we have realised operational synergies
across the Group, including in North America. As a result, underlying cost
growth
has remained well controlled.
The overall increase in operating costs is driven by structural factors.
£183m of the increase relates to the operating costs associated with new
store space, reflecting our continued investment in our store estate. In
addition, £432m reflects the annualisation of costs from Hibbett and Courir
following their acquisition in the prior year.
A breakdown of operating costs before adjusting items* is shown in the
table below.
£m 52 weeks to Restated((1)) Change
31 January 52 weeks to %
2026 1 February
2025
Selling and distribution expenses (4,388) (3,842) 14%
Administrative expenses before adjusting items (560) (520) 8%
Share of profit of equity-accounted investees - 5 (100)%
Other operating income 32 25 28%
Operating costs before adjusting items (4,916) (4,332) 13%
(1) For the prior financial period ended 1 February 2025, balances have
been restated to reflect classification adjustments between cost of sales and
selling and distribution expenses, resulting in a net £91m increase in cost
of sales, with a corresponding decrease in selling and distribution expenses.
Please refer to Note 12 for further details of the restatement.
Net Finance Expense before Adjusting Items*
Net finance expense before adjusting items* in the period was £183m. Interest
on lease liabilities increased from £112m to £149m, reflecting the full year
impact of prior period acquisitions (Hibbett and Courir) alongside higher
discount rates applied to new and remeasured leases in the period.
Finance income was £11m (FY25: £27m), reflecting higher cash and cash
equivalent balances held across the Group prior to the Courir acquisition in
November 2024 and Hibbett acquisition in July 2024.
Finance expense excluding interest on lease liabilities increased from £14m
to £34m, driven by a full year interest charge on the debt facility used to
fund the Hibbett acquisition. This was partially offset by a part repayment of
$300m of the initial $1bn loan at the end of FY25 and a reduction in the
interest rate year on year.
£m 52 weeks to 52 weeks to Change
31 January 1 February %
2026 2025
Interest on lease liabilities (149) (112) 33%
Finance income 11 27 (59%)
Finance expense excluding interest on lease liabilities* (45) (41) 10%
Net finance expense excluding interest on lease liabilities* (34) (14)
Net finance expense before adjusting items* (183) (126) 45%
Operating Profit before Adjusting Items and after Interest on Lease
Liabilities*
Operating profit before adjusting items and after interest on lease
liabilities* of £886m (FY25: £937m) was down 4.0% at constant FX rates and
down 5.4% on a reported currency basis. This was driven by lower LFL sales
together with underlying margin pressure and higher interest on lease
liabilities.
Operating margin before adjusting items and after interest on lease
liabilities decreased by 120 basis points to 7.0%, reflecting the deleveraging
impact of lower LFL sales and cost inflation, partially offset by cost
efficiencies delivered
across the business.
Profit Before Tax and Adjusting Items*
Profit before tax and adjusting items* was £852m (FY25: £923m), down 6.4% at
constant FX rates and 7.7% at reported rates.
Adjusting Items
Adjusting items for the period were a net charge of £223m (FY25: net charge
of £208m), as detailed in the table below.
£m 52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
Acquisition related costs - 9
Adjusting items within cost of sales - 9
Acquisition related costs 12 36
Impairment of tangible and intangible assets and investments 119 112
(Gain) / loss on divestments - (78)
Restructuring 16 -
US integration 18 5
Amortisation of acquired intangibles 69 57
Provision for litigation 14 -
Foreign exchange movements - 5
Adjusting items within administrative expenses 248 137
Put and call options: movement in present value of put and call options (29) 62
Joint venture finance costs 4 -
Adjusting items within net finance expense (25) 62
Adjusting items 223 208
The total charge for the period is £223m, of which £4m was a net cash
outflow and £219m was a non-cash charge. It is expected there will be a
further £44m cash outflow related to these charges over the next two years,
excluding any settlement of put and call options.
Acquisition related costs: Acquisition related costs of £12m have been
recognised in the period in relation to prior period acquisitions (Hibbett and
Mainline Menswear).
Impairment of tangible and intangible assets and investments: The £119m
charge in the current period reflects impairments and related costs arising
from the ongoing optimisation of the Group's store estate and international
footprint. This includes £93m of impairment charges and £5 million
associated costs in respect of stores impacted by the Group's strategic review
and store closure programme in certain markets, £15m relating to the
impairment of the Sizeer fascia, and £5m of costs associated with the exit of
the Derby Distribution Centre lease in FY26 following its closure in FY25.
Store impairment charges of £93m have been recognised in the period along
with £5 million associated closure costs, directly reflecting the Group's
strategic restructuring of the store portfolio. This includes £63m in Europe
and £28m relating to Hibbett. As outlined in the CEO report, we are
maintaining a disciplined focus on store productivity, including a shift
towards 'fewer, bigger, better' locations in the UK, alongside targeted
optimisation of underperforming stores across Europe. In Hibbett, the charge
reflects the planned closure of lower volume, remote stores with a legacy
sporting goods offer, which are not aligned with the Group's strategy to
improve overall store productivity and optimise the store portfolio over the
next three years.
The impairment charge arises from updated future cash flow assumptions
following the strategic review to ensure that store asset carrying values are
aligned to expected future performance. The charge is non-cash.
The prior period charge of £112m included significant impairments and closure
costs relating to the Derby Distribution Centre and the initial phase of the
European store estate review, forming part of the wider European strategy
review that has continued into the current year and is reflected in the
European impairment charges noted above.
Restructuring: As a result of the optimisation of stores in Europe referenced
above, restructuring costs of £16m have been recognised in the current period
(FY25: £Nil). This comprises £16m relating to provisions associated with the
closure of stores in Germany and the restructuring of the operating model,
including support functions, as part of the Group's wider store and cost
optimisation programme.
US integration: Integration costs of £18m have been recognised in the current
period (FY25: £5m) in relation to the integration of the Group's North
American businesses following the acquisition of Hibbett. This forms part of a
multi-year programme to create an integrated platform to support the
nationwide growth of the JD Brand and Complementary Athleisure fascias in
North America, supported by a more efficient supply chain and back office
infrastructure. We are on track to deliver annualised cost synergies of $25m
across FY26 and FY27.
Amortisation of acquired intangibles: Amortisation of acquired intangibles of
£69m (FY25: £57m) has been presented as an adjusting item, consistent with
the updated policy introduced in the prior year. This has increased year on
year due to the annualisation impact of the Hibbett and Courir acquisitions.
Provision for litigation: During the period, the Group recognised a provision
of £14m in respect of a regulatory matter relating to historical employment
practices in the US. The Group has already taken actions in prior periods to
strengthen its compliance framework in the relevant areas, including
enhancements to policies, processes and governance.
Gain on divestments: There is no net gain or loss on divestments recognised in
the current period. During the year, the Group disposed of its 77.5% equity
interest in Wheelbase Lakeland Limited with nil gain or loss on disposal.
This compares with a £78m gain in the prior year, which primarily arose on
the partial disposal of the Group's shareholding in Applied Nutrition.
Put and call options: A £29m net credit has been recognised, reflecting the
movement in the present value of put and call options over non-controlling
interests ('NCIs'). This comprises a £44m credit in respect of Genesis Topco
Inc ('Genesis'), the holding company for the Group's North American
businesses, and a £15m charge in relation to Cosmos.
The amendment to the Genesis shareholders' agreement in March 2025, which
deferred the exercise profile of the options to 2029 and 2030, represents a
material change in the period. The resulting credit reflects the impact of
this new agreement, updated forecasts for the underlying business, and
movements in the USD/GBP exchange rate, which together have reduced the
Sterling value of the option liability.
The Cosmos charge reflects an increase in the valuation of the option
liability, driven by updated valuation assumptions. As at the year end, the
put and call option was exercisable by either party within 12 months.
This compares with a £62m charge in the prior year, which was driven by a
significant increase in valuation following the acquisition of Hibbett.
Joint venture finance costs: This comprises £4m in relation to the Group's
exit from its JD Israel joint venture, following the disposal of its interest
to its joint venture partner for nil consideration.
Operating Profit
Whilst revenue increased and gross margin remained stable, operating profit
declined from £903m to £787m, due to a £102m increase in adjusting items
charged within operating profit.
Profit Before Tax
Profit before tax was £629m (FY25: £715m), reflecting a reduction in
operating profit of £116m, an increase in net finance expense before
adjusting items of £57m, and the positive movement of £87m in the net
finance expense charged to adjusting items due to the movement in the present
value of put and call options over NCIs.
Income Tax Expense
The income tax expense for the period was £161m (FY25: £175m).
The effective tax rate increased from 24.5% to 25.6%, reflecting the absence
of non‑recurring tax credits relating to prior periods and non‑taxable
income on the disposal of shares in Applied Nutrition that were recognised in
FY25.
The income tax expense before adjusting items* for the period was £211m
(FY25: £222m). The adjusted effective tax rate* increased from 24.1% to
24.8%, reflecting the absence of non-recurring tax credit relating to prior
periods.
Profits Attributable to Non-Controlling Interests
Profit attributable to NCIs fell £18m from £50m in FY25 to £32m in FY26.
This is due to the lower amount of profit being generated from the Genesis
Group. The only material NCI left in the Group at the end of the period is the
20% in Genesis.
Earnings per Share
On a statutory basis, basic earnings per ordinary share fell from 9.50p to
8.63p due to the 12.0% reduction in profit before tax and an increase in the
effective tax rate, partly offset by a decrease in weighted average shares in
issue following the £200m share buybacks in the period.
Adjusted basic earnings per ordinary share* fell 5.5% from 12.39p to 11.71p
driven by lower profit before tax and adjusting items attributable to the
parent, together with a higher adjusted effective tax rate. These impacts were
partly offset by a lower weighted average number of shares and a reduction in
profit attributable to NCIs.
Segmental Report
A performance summary of the three reportable segments in the Group can be
seen in the table below.
FY26 (£m) Sporting Goods
Complementary & Outdoor
Total JD Athleisure
Revenue 12,662 7,945 3,208 1,509
Gross profit 5,951 3,779 1,500 672
Gross margin 47.0% 47.6% 46.7% 44.5%
Operating costs before adjusting items* (4,916) (3,115) (1,224) (577)
Interest on lease liabilities (149) (102) (33) (14)
Operating profit before adjusting items after interest on lease liabilities* 886 562 243 81
Operating margin before adjusting items after interest on lease liabilities* 7.0% 7.1% 7.6% 5.4%
FY25 as restated((1)) (£m) Sporting Goods
Complementary & Outdoor
Total JD Athleisure
Revenue 11,458 7,798 2,165 1,495
Gross profit before adjusting items* 5,381 3,742 976 663
Gross margin before adjusting items* 47.0% 48.0% 45.1% 44.3%
Operating costs before adjusting items* (4,332) (2,997) (763) (572)
Interest on lease liabilities (112) (81) (19) (12)
Operating profit before adjusting items after interest on lease liabilities* 937 664 194 79
Operating margin before adjusting items after interest on lease liabilities* 8.2% 8.5% 9.0% 5.3%
(1) Please see Note 12 for further details of the restatement.
Change (at reported rates) Sporting Goods
Complementary & Outdoor
Total JD Athleisure
Revenue 10.5% 1.9% 48.2% 0.9%
Gross margin before adjusting items* - (40)bps 160bps 20bps
Operating costs before adjusting items* 13.5% 3.9% 60.4% 0.9%
Operating profit before adjusting items after interest on lease liabilities* (5.4%) (15.5%) 25.3% 2.5%
Operating margin before adjusting items after interest on lease liabilities* (120)bps (140)bps (140)bps 10bps
Change (at constant currency) Sporting Goods
Complementary & Outdoor
Total JD Athleisure
Revenue 11.7% 2.8% 53.0% (0.3%)
Gross margin before adjusting items* - (40)bps 170bps 20bps
Operating costs before adjusting items* 14.6% 4.8% 65.2% (0.2%)
Operating profit before adjusting items after interest on lease liabilities* (4.0%) (14.5%) 30.6% 0.0%
Operating margin before adjusting items after interest on lease liabilities* (120)bps (140)bps (130)bps 0bps
JD
JD segment revenue increased to £7,945m, representing growth of 1.9% compared
with the prior period, 2.8% at constant FX rates. Organic revenue growth of
2.9%, was driven by net new space growth of 5.7%, partially offset by a 2.8%
decline in like-for-like revenue*. Growth was driven by the ongoing expansion
of JD's international store base, with 165 new stores opened including 54
relocations during the period, of which 67 were in North America and 68 in
Europe, in line with our strategic focus of strengthening JD's global
footprint. Gross margin decreased from 48.0% to 47.6%, reflecting targeted
price investments, particularly online, in a more promotional trading
environment.
Operating profit before adjusting items and after interest on lease
liabilities* decreased by 15.5%, driven by LFL pressure, targeted price
investments, and with inflation and investment in supply chain, technology and
systems, offset by headcount and operating cost efficiencies to support the
Group's long-term growth ambitions. This segment represented 63% of Group
revenue (FY25: 68%), following the acquisition of Hibbett and Courir, and
remains the core focus of our JD Brand First strategy with 2,088 stores
operating at the end of the period.
JD UK
The UK remains JD's most mature market. Our 'fewer, bigger, better' estate
optimisation strategy continued to enhance the quality and effectiveness of
the UK store footprint, with 24 net store closures, reflecting targeted and
disciplined portfolio rationalisation. Revenue decreased by
2.1% to £2,607m, with organic sales down 1.7% and LFL sales down 3.5%,
reflecting continued pressure on our core consumer, end-of-cycle product
headwinds and strong replica trade from the Euros tournament in the prior
year. Alongside this, continued investment in a small number of
destination stores to anchor regional presence and deliver an elevated brand
proposition was demonstrated by the successful opening of our largest global
flagship store at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, UK.
Operating profit before adjusting items and after interest on
lease liabilities* decreased by 5.5%, largely due to operating cost
deleverage impacts.
JD Gyms delivered another period of growth, with revenue up 11.0% to £136m.
The business opened its 100th gym during the year and ended the period with
102 gyms in operation (FY25: 92).
JD Europe
Revenue increased by 9.5% to £2,408m (7.3% at constant FX rates), supported
by new store openings, growing brand awareness and continued online growth,
against a tough market and competitive backdrop, and varying country dynamics.
Organic revenue grew 7.3%, with growth of 9.9% from net new space partly
offset by -2.6% in LFL performance, with strong momentum in apparel, expansion
of omni‑channel capabilities including ship-from store and
click-and-collect, offset by lower footfall year on year and a softer footwear
product cycle.
JD strengthened its presence across key European markets, opening 51 net new
stores, while maintaining a focus on product assortment, space productivity,
and full price sell‑through in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Operating profit before adjusting items and after interest on lease
liabilities increased by 7.3% (at constant FX rates), benefiting from cost
efficiencies across retail, online and supply chain operations, including the
roll-out of automation at the Heerlen Distribution Centre, which now supports
JD Europe store replenishment.
Store impairment charges of £63m have been recognised in the period within
adjusting items, reflecting the Group's ongoing strategic optimisation of the
European store portfolio. In addition, restructuring charges of £16m have
been recognised in Germany in relation to actions underway to refine the
operating model.
Looking ahead, the Group is concentrating investment on markets with the
greatest potential for profitable growth - including France, Iberia, Italy,
Benelux, Ireland, Greece and Poland - while progressing restructuring in
Germany and optimising store catchments in France and Eastern Europe.
JD North America
JD North America revenue decreased by 1.3% to £2,403m but grew 2.9% at
constant FX rates. Organic revenue growth of 2.9% was driven by net new space
of 5.7% from 107 net store openings, (including conversions), partially offset
by a 2.9% decline in LFL. JD's brand awareness strengthened in the US as we
advanced the ongoing conversion programme from Finish Line to JD. Excluding
Finish Line, JD North America LFL revenue increased by 3.1%. An enhanced
e-commerce experience following the re-platforming of JD and Finish Line
earlier in the period drove online growth. This was supported by strong
performance in apparel, where the JD product assortment resonated well with
consumers, driven by improved online ranging, targeted marketing and
controlled price investments. In footwear, momentum in running together with
successful retro launches helped balance softer demand across certain
end‑of‑cycle product lines.
Operating profit before adjusting items and after interest on lease
liabilities* declined by 29% at constant FX on the prior period, reflecting
the margin pressures and continued investment to strengthen the long‑term
positioning of JD in the North American market.
JD Asia Pacific
Revenue grew 5.2% to £527m, representing growth of 8.5% at constant FX rates.
This reflected net space growth of 8.1% from 13 new store openings, including
a flagship store in Melbourne, alongside LFL growth of 0.4%. Performance was
supported by growth in targeted categories and demographics, driven by
improved access to exclusive product and broad‑based category growth.
Continued benefits from the roll-out of new e‑commerce platforms further
supported trading, complemented by enhanced peak fulfilment capability
following the introduction of automation at our distribution centre in
Australia.
Complementary Athleisure
During the period, the Group renamed its 'Complementary Concepts' reporting
segment to 'Complementary Athleisure' to better reflect the nature of the
businesses included within the segment. There was no change to the composition
of the reportable segments or to previously reported segment financial
information.
Complementary Athleisure comprises our Community business in North America
(Hibbett plus City Specialists, DTLR and Shoe Palace); Courir in Europe; and
our non-JD fascia stores across Eastern and Central Europe.
Revenue was £3,208m, up 48.2% on the prior period (+53% at constant FX
rates), driven by the full year contribution from the Hibbett and Courir
acquisitions. Integration across Hibbett and our wider North American fascias
continued to progress well, supported by procurement, technology and supply
chain efficiencies.
In North America, Community revenue growth reflected the annualisation of the
Hibbett acquisition. Organic revenue growth* of 3.7% was driven by 4.0% growth
from net new space, including the transfer of City Gear stores to DTLR and
Shoe Palace, partly offset by -0.3% in LFL performance. Online trading
performed strongly across fascias, underpinned by successful retro launches,
an expanded brand proposition and sustained apparel growth.
Operating profit before adjusting items and after interest on lease
liabilities* was £210m, up 8.8% (14.1% at constant FX rates), driven by the
annualisation of the Hibbett acquisition and the continued integration across
the US fascias, resulting in cost synergies.
Store impairment charges of £28m have been recognised in the period within
adjusting items, reflecting the Group's ongoing optimisation of the Hibbett
store portfolio. We continue to maintain a disciplined focus on store
productivity, with actions taken to close smaller stores in underperforming
locations and prioritise new larger stores in locations with stronger sale
productivity potential.
Revenue in our Complementary business in Europe increased 132% to £832m (125%
in constant FX rates), following the acquisition of Courir in November
2024.
Operating profit before adjusting items and after interest on lease
liabilities* increased 357% to £33m (300% in constant FX rates), driven by
the annualisation of the Courir acquisition.
Sporting Goods and Outdoors
Revenue in Sporting Goods grew 5.7% to £1,006m (3.7% at constant FX rates),
supported by resilient demand across family and performance categories.
Operating profit before adjusting items and after interest on lease
liabilities* increased by 15.3% (12.2% at constant FX rates), driven by
efficiencies across the supply chain and distribution centres.
Outdoors revenue was £502m, down 7.6% on the prior period. Whilst the
consistently dry, warm weather supported camping categories, it negatively
impacted demand for apparel and footwear. LFL sales declined 5.8%, reflecting
a challenging trading environment across high-street locations and online.
Online delivery costs, higher store repair expenses and rising utility costs
contributed to an operating loss before adjusting items and after interest on
lease liabilities* of £3m.
Store impairment charges of £7m have been recognised in the period within
adjusting items, reflecting a strategic review of the Outdoors store estate.
As part of this review, a number of underperforming locations within the
Blacks fascia have been identified for exit over the medium term. This forms
part of a broader strategic plan to optimise the portfolio, with an increased
focus on larger format Go Outdoors stores and more prominent high street
locations.
Geographical Report
A performance summary of the four geographic segments in the Group can be seen
in the table below.
North Asia
FY26 (£m) Total America Europe UK Pacific
Revenue 12,662 4,779 4,246 3,110 527
Operating profit before adjusting items after 886 353 205 268 60
interest on lease liabilities*
Operating margin before adjusting items after 7.0% 7.4% 4.8% 8.6% 11.4%
interest on lease liabilities*
Number of stores 4,811 2,519 1,562 615 115
North Asia
FY25 (£m) Total America Europe UK Pacific
Revenue 11,458 4,242 3,510 3,205 501
Operating profit before adjusting items after 937 418 160 297 62
interest on lease liabilities*
Operating margin before adjusting items after 8.2% 9.9% 4.6% 9.3% 12.3%
interest on lease liabilities*
Number of stores 4,850 2,504 1,579 665 102
North America Asia Pacific
Change Total Europe UK
Revenue* 10.5% 12.7% 21.0% (3.0%) 5.2%
Operating profit before adjusting items after (5.4%) (15.6%) 28.1% (9.4%) (3.2%)
interest on lease liabilities*
Operating margin before adjusting items after (120)bps (250)bps 20bps (70)bps (90)bps
interest on lease liabilities*
Number of stores (39) 15 (17) (50) 13
The expansion of the Group's operations in North America, following the
acquisition in Hibbett and investment in new stores has resulted in it now
representing the largest geographic area from both a Revenue* and Operating
profit before adjusting items after interest on lease liabilities*
perspective, being 38% and 40% respectively.
Free Cash Flow
A summary cash flow, showing how the change in cash and cash equivalents((1))
is calculated, can be seen in the table below.
£m Restated((1))
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 2026 1 February 2025
Profit before tax 629 715
Add back impairments of tangible, intangible assets and investments 130 125
Add back other non-cash adjusting items 62 109
Add back cash adjusting items 4 -
Add back non-lease net finance expense 9 -
Less profit on disposal of associates - (75)
Depreciation and amortisation of non-current assets 966 786
Repayment of principal portion of lease liabilities (508) (420)
Other((1)) 17 27
Operating cash flow net of lease repayments 1,309 1,267
Change in working capital (248) (137)
Capital expenditure (401) (515)
Acquisition of non-current assets((1)) (12) (19)
Income taxes paid (165) (243)
Non-lease net interest paid((1)) (21) (14)
Free cash flow((1)) 462 339
Cash outflow on adjusting items (4) -
Repayment of interest-bearing loans and borrowings (463) (501)
Drawdown of interest-bearing loans and borrowings 407 865
Payment of arrangement fees on refinancing (7) -
Acquisition of subsidiaries and NCI - (1,157)
Cash consideration of disposals - 95
Cash received under shareholder arrangements relating to a subsidiary 11 -
Equity dividends paid (52) (48)
Share buyback programme (201) -
Change in cash and cash equivalents((2)) 153 (407)
Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the period((2)) 695 1,102
Foreign exchange losses on cash and cash equivalents (12) 0
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period((2)) 836 695
(1) The Group has updated its cash flow KPI from operating cash flow net of lease
repayments to free cash flow. As a result, acquisition of non-current assets
and non-lease net interest paid are now presented as separate line items
within free cash flow (previously included within 'Other' operating cash flows
in FY25). Prior year comparatives have been represented for comparability,
however, there is no net impact on free cash flow or the metric under its
previous title.
(2) Cash and cash equivalents equates to the cash and cash equivalents presented
in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, as reconciled in Note 8.
Profit before tax was £629m (FY25: £715m). The £86m decrease vs. the
prior period is explained above.
Non-cash add backs of impairments and adjusting items are explained above.
Lease liability repayments increased 21% to £508m, reflecting the full year
impact of lease payments associated with prior year acquisitions of Hibbett
and Courir, together with ongoing investment in new stores and supply chain
infrastructure.
Total depreciation and amortisation was £966m (£562m on right-of-use assets
and £404m on owned assets), an increase of £180m (23%), also reflecting the
full year impact of prior year acquisitions together with continued investment
in the store estate and supply chain infrastructure.
As a result, the Group operating cashflow net of lease repayments was £1,309m
(FY25: £1,267m), an improvement of 3.3% on the prior period, reflecting the
continued cash generative nature of the Group.
There was a working capital outflow of £248m in the period (FY25: £137m
outflow), comprising an outflow of £55m in inventory to support our new
larger stores, an outflow of £84m in trade and other receivables, and an
outflow of £109m in trade and other payables, reflecting timing movements and
investment in working capital to support trading. Trade and other receivables
includes a cash outflow from increases in lease related balances of £70m.
Cash capital expenditure in the period was £401m, down £114m on the prior
period. Investment in new store openings reduced as we adopted a more
selective approach to expanding JD fascia stores globally. Supply chain capex
also reduced, following significant investment in FY25 and prior periods to
develop distribution centre capacity across Europe, the US and Australia.
£m 52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 2026 1 February 2025
Stores & gyms 331 346
Supply chain infrastructure 44 110
Technology and other 26 59
Total capital expenditure excluding other non-current assets 401 515
Tax payments were £165m (FY25: £243m), reflecting the timing of payments in
the prior period, particularly in the US, together with lower taxable profits
in the current period.
Free cash flow increased to £462m (FY25: £339m), reflecting strong
underlying cash generation, lower capital expenditure and reduced tax payments
in the period.
Repayments of interest-bearing loans and borrowings were £463m (FY25:
£501m), with drawdowns of £407m (FY25: £865m). The movements in the current
year primarily reflect in year utilisation and repayment of the Group's
Revolving Credit Facility ('RCF'), whereas the prior year included significant
drawdowns to fund the Hibbett acquisition. In addition, £7m of arrangement
fees were paid in relation to the refinancing of the RCF and the $700m Term
Loan during the period.
There were no material acquisitions in the current period (FY25: £1,157m),
reflecting the absence of significant M&A activity compared with the prior
period.
There were no material disposal proceeds in the current period (FY25: £95m),
with the prior period including proceeds from the partial disposal of the
Group's shareholding in Applied Nutrition.
The Group received £11m in the period relating to shareholder arrangements
following the disposal of a 40% interest in its Thailand business, to a
minority partner, as part of a strategic partnership to grow our business in
Thailand.
The Group paid £52m in equity dividends (FY25: £48m) and completed a £201m
share buyback programme (including transaction fees) during the period (FY25:
£Nil).
As a result, the change in cash and cash equivalents was an inflow of £153m
(FY25: £407m outflow). The Group ended the period with cash and cash
equivalents of £836m (FY25: £695m), maintaining a strong liquidity position,
and net cash before lease liabilities of £311m (FY25: £52m).
On an IFRS 16 basis, the Group reported net debt of £2,827 million, including
lease liabilities of £3,138 million, equating to a net leverage ratio of
1.4x. Including the Genesis put option liability, net debt increases by £787
million, resulting in a net leverage ratio of 1.9x, which remains within the
Group's investment grade parameters. The Group continues to maintain a strong
balance sheet, supported by significant liquidity headroom.
Refinancing
During the period the Group refinanced its syndicated bank borrowing facility,
increasing total committed facility to £1bn, from £700m as at 1 February
2025. The facility has a maturity date of 8 July 2030, and includes two
one-year extension options, subject to lender consent.
In addition, the Group entered into a new US Term Loan Facility Agreement with
total commitments of $700m. The new facility was drawn in full on inception
and has a three-year term, maturing on 8 July 2028, followed by two one-year
extension options subject to lender consent.
The total liquidity from cash and available undrawn facilities is £1.8bn at
31 January 2026 (1 February 2025: £1.6bn).
Acquisitions
The Group did not complete any material acquisitions in the current period.
Disposals
On 24 April 2025, the Group disposed of its 77.5% equity interest in Wheelbase
Lakeland Limited for cash consideration of £2m.
During the period, the Group disposed of a 40% interest in its Thailand
business to a strategic local partner to support the development of the
business, while retaining a controlling interest. The arrangement includes put
and call options over the 40% interest, together with governance and
contractual rights, which result in the Group retaining control of the
subsidiary in accordance with IFRS 10.
No material gain or loss arose on these transactions.
Capital allocation priorities, and returns to shareholders
Our Board recognises the Group's strong and increasingly cash generative
profile and has therefore updated its capital allocation policy to reflect its
ongoing commitment to provide attractive returns to shareholders. Supported by
a strong balance sheet and a disciplined approach to net leverage, targeting
levels broadly in line with investment grade standards, our capital
allocation priorities are as follows:
- Reinvest in the business where economic returns are attractive: to organic
and/or 'bolt-on' inorganic growth opportunities that accelerate our strategy.
Capital expenditure for organic investment is expected to normalise between
c.3% and 3.5% of sales over the medium term.
- Maintain leverage headroom: to meet future obligations, including settlement
of the Genesis put and call option in FY30/FY31.
- Pay a dividend: progressive ordinary dividend growth, moving over time towards
a more attractive dividend yield.
- Buy back shares: deploy surplus cash to share buybacks via a rolling annual
share buyback programme of £200m.
Ordinary dividend: Reflecting the framework above, the Board intends to
continue delivering progressive ordinary dividend growth. Over time, we expect
to move the Group towards a dividend yield more in line with FTSE 350 retail
peers while maintaining flexibility to manage macro-economic and trading
variability.
The Board has proposed a final dividend per share of 0.87 pence per share
(FY25 final dividend: 0.67 pence per share). This results in a proposed total
dividend per share of 1.20 pence per share in respect of FY26, which is 20%
higher than the prior year (FY25: 1.00 pence per share). The final dividend is
subject to shareholder approval at
the Annual General Meeting on 21 July 2026. If approved, it will be paid on 31
July 2026 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 3 July 2026.
The shares will go ex-dividend on 2 July 2026.
Share buybacks: The move to a rolling £200m annual buyback recognises our
strong free cash flow generation, and our confidence in its continued
strength.
In addition to the ordinary dividend and the first £200m buyback programme
(completed in December 2025), we commenced another £200m share buyback
programme on 23 February 2026, the first £100m tranche of which is expected
to complete in H127.
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
Profit for the period was accompanied by a net movement in other comprehensive
income, primarily driven by foreign exchange volatility. The Group recognised
a £154m loss on the translation of foreign operations, reflecting the
weakening of certain overseas currencies, primarily the US Dollar, against
Sterling during the period. This translation impact is non-cash in nature and
does not affect the Group's underlying trading performance or cash generation.
Partially offsetting this, the Group recorded a £19m fair value gain on
financial instruments, relating to its investment in Applied Nutrition, of
which we hold 9.78% at period end. This gain reflects an increase in the
valuation of the investment over the period.
Consolidated statement of financial position
Total assets at period end of £9,791m are broadly consistent with the prior
period £9,959m, with no significant changes in the composition of the balance
sheet in the absence of material acquisition or disposal activity during the
year.
Total liabilities are similarly stable at £6,351m (FY25: £6,587m). Movements
in the period primarily reflect underlying trading activity and normal course
financing and lease movements, with no material structural changes compared
with the prior year.
The change in net cash and cash equivalents was an inflow of £153m for
reasons explained above. The Group retained a strong balance sheet with net
cash before lease liabilities* of £311m.
Post-balance sheet events
Disposal of interest in JD Israel
On 15 February 2026, the Group completed the disposal of its interest in the
JD Israel joint venture to its joint venture partner, MGS, for £Nil
consideration. A provision of £4m in respect of the exit was recognised in
the year. See Note 3 for further information.
Share Buyback
As announced on 23 February 2026, the Company has commenced a further share
buyback programme to repurchase ordinary shares with a market value of up to
£200m, in addition to the two £100m schemes both completed during FY26. The
purpose of the programme is to reduce share capital and, accordingly, the
shares repurchased will be cancelled or held in treasury. The first tranche of
£100m will complete by 31 July 2026, with the second following thereafter for
the sum of up to £100m.
Disposal of Interest in Applied Nutrition
In March and April 2026, the Group reduced its shareholding from 9.78% to 9.1%
through a series of partial disposals, generating proceeds of approximately
£2m. On 16 April 2026, the Group disposed of its remaining 9.1% shareholding
for cash proceeds of £49m.
Consolidated Income Statement
For the 52 weeks ended 31 January 2026
52 weeks to 31 January 2026 Restated((1)) 52 weeks to 1 February 2025
Profit before Profit before
adjusting Adjusting Profit for adjusting Adjusting Profit for
items items the period items items the period
Note £m £m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 2 12,662 - 12,662 11,458 - 11,458
Cost of sales (6,711) - (6,711) (6,077) (9) (6,086)
Gross profit 5,951 - 5,951 5,381 (9) 5,372
Selling and distribution expenses (4,388) - (4,388) (3,842) - (3,842)
Administrative expenses 3 (560) (248) (808) (520) (137) (657)
Share of profit of equity-accounted investees - - - 5 - 5
Other operating income 32 - 32 25 - 25
Operating profit 1,035 (248) 787 1,049 (146) 903
Finance income 11 - 11 27 - 27
Finance expenses 3 (194) 25 (169) (153) (62) (215)
Net finance expense (183) 25 (158) (126) (62) (188)
Profit before tax 852 (223) 629 923 (208) 715
Income tax expense 4 (211) 50 (161) (222) 47 (175)
Profit for the period 641 (173) 468 701 (161) 540
Attributable to equity holders of the parent 436 490
Attributable to non-controlling interest 32 50
Basic earnings per ordinary share 5 8.63p 9.50p
Diluted earnings per ordinary share 5 8.54p 9.50p
(1) Please refer to Note 12 for further details of the
restatement.
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the 52 weeks ended 31 January 2026
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 2026 1 February 2025
£m £m
Profit for the period 468 540
Other comprehensive income:
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to the Consolidated Income
Statement:
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations (154) 28
Items that won't be reclassified subsequently to the Consolidated Income
Statement:
Fair value movement on financial investments 19 4
Total other comprehensive (expense)/income for the period (135) 32
Total comprehensive income for the period (net of income tax) 333 572
Attributable to equity holders of the parent 337 514
Attributable to non-controlling interest (4) 58
The accompanying notes form part of the announcement.
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
As at 31 January 2026
As at As at
31 January 1 February
2026 2025 ((1))
Note £m £m
Non-current assets
Intangible assets 2,161 2,369
Property, plant and equipment 1,488 1,490
Investment properties - 3
Right-of-use assets 2,759 2,813
Other assets 78 71
Investment in joint venture 1 1
Other investments 57 38
Trade and other receivables 1 1
Deferred tax assets 34 32
Total non-current assets 6,579 6,818
Current assets
Inventories 2,017 2,021
Trade and other receivables 298 277
Income tax receivables 43 55
Cash and cash equivalents 854 731
Current assets excluding held-for-sale 3,212 3,084
Assets held-for-sale - 57
Total current assets 3,212 3,141
Total assets 9,791 9,959
Current liabilities
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings (32) (88)
Lease liabilities (516) (493)
Trade and other payables (1,470) (1,583)
Put and call option liabilities 6 (39) (188)
Provisions (40) (10)
Income tax liabilities (30) (20)
Current liabilities excluding held-for-sale (2,127) (2,382)
Liabilities held-for-sale - (50)
Total current liabilities (2,127) (2,432)
Non-current liabilities
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings (510) (591)
Lease liabilities (2,622) (2,566)
Other payables (108) (145)
Put and call option liabilities 6 (816) (669)
Provisions (50) (29)
Deferred tax liabilities (118) (155)
Total non-current liabilities (4,224) (4,155)
Total liabilities (6,351) (6,587)
Net assets 3,440 3,372
Capital and reserves
Issued ordinary share capital 3 3
Share premium 468 468
Treasury reserve (66) -
Capital redemption reserve 0 -
Retained earnings 2,880 2,633
Fair value reserve of financial assets at FVOCI 23 -
Share-based payment reserve 9 4
Foreign currency translation reserve (27) 91
Put and call option reserve (300) (277)
Total equity attributable to equity holders of the parent 2,990 2,922
Non-controlling interest 450 450
Total equity 3,440 3,372
(1) During FY26 and in the 12 months following the acquisition of
Courir, new information has been obtained which provides clarity on the
existence of accruals of £3 million and provisions of £2 million that were
not reflected within the initial acquisition accounting. This information
pertains to facts and circumstances that existed at the date of acquisition,
therefore we have revised the acquisition accounting to reflect these balances
in accordance with IFRS 3. This has resulted in an increase in goodwill of £5
million.
The accompanying notes form part of the announcement.
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
For the 52 weeks ended 31 January 2026
Total
Fair value equity
reserve of Put and Share- Foreign attributable
Ordinary Capital financial call based currency to equity Non-
share Share Treasury redemption Retained assets at option payment translation holders of controlling Total
capital premium reserve ((1)) reserve earnings FVOCI reserve reserve reserve the parent interest equity
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
Balance at 3 February 2024 3 468 - - 2,214 - (302) 3 71 2,457 412 2,869
Profit for the period - - - - 490 - - - - 490 50 540
Other comprehensive
income:
Exchange differences on - - - - - - - - 20 20 8 28
translation of foreign
operations
Fair value movement on - - - - 4 - - - - 4 - 4
financial investments
Total comprehensive - - - - 494 - - - 20 514 58 572
income for the period
Dividends to equity holders - - - - (48) - - - - (48) - (48)
(Note 7)
Lapsed and disposed put - - - - (10) - 25 - - 15 - 15
options held by non-
controlling interests (Note
6)
Acquisition of non- - - - - (17) - - - - (17) (16) (33)
controlling interest
Divestment of non- - - - - - - - - - - (4) (4)
controlling interest
Share-based payment - - - - - - - 1 - 1 - 1
charge
Balance at 1 February 2025 3 468 - - 2,633 - (277) 4 91 2,922 450 3,372
Profit for the period - - - - 436 - - - - 436 32 468
Other comprehensive
income:
Exchange differences on - - - - - - - - (118) (118) (36) (154)
translation of foreign
operations
Fair value movement on - - - - - 19 - - - 19 - 19
financial investments
Total comprehensive - - - - 436 19 - - (118) 337 (4) 333
income for the period
Transfer fair value - - - - (4) 4 - - - - - -
movement on financial
investments
Dividends to equity holders - - - - (52) - - - - (52) - (52)
(Note 7)
Additions to put and call - - - - - - (27) - - (27) - (27)
options (Note 6)
Lapsed and disposed put - - - - (4) - 4 - - - - -
options held by non-
controlling interests
Treasury shares acquired in - - (201) - - - - - - (201) - (201)
the period (Note 5)
Treasury shares cancelled in - - 135 0 (135) - - - - - - -
the period
Recognition of non- - - - - 6 - - - - 6 5 11
controlling interest
Divestment of non- - - - - - - - - - - (1) (1)
controlling interest
Share-based payment - - - - - - - 5 - 5 - 5
charge
Balance at 31 January 2026 3 468 (66) 0 2,880 23 (300) 9 (27) 2,990 450 3,440
The accompanying notes form part of the announcement
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
For the 52 weeks ended 31 January 2026
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
Note £m £m
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit after taxation 468 540
Adjustments reconciling profit after tax to operating cash flows 1,235 1,084
Cash generated from operations 9 1,703 1,624
Interest paid (32) (41)
Lease interest paid (149) (112)
Income taxes paid (165) (243)
Net cash from operating activities 1,357 1,228
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received 11 27
Proceeds from sale of non-current assets 11 3
Acquisition of intangible assets (34) (28)
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment (367) (487)
Acquisition of other non-current assets (12) (19)
Dividends received from equity-accounted investees - 5
Cash consideration of disposals (net of cash disposed) 0 95
Acquisition of subsidiaries (net of cash acquired) - (1,090)
Net cash used in investing activities (391) (1,494)
Cash flows from financing activities
Repayment of interest-bearing loans and borrowings (463) (501)
Drawdown of interest-bearing loans and borrowings 407 865
Payment of arrangement fees on new financing (7) -
Repayment of principal portion of lease liabilities (508) (420)
Acquisition of non-controlling interests - (37)
Equity dividends paid 7 (52) (48)
Share buyback (201) -
Cash received on equity transactions 11 -
Net cash used in financing activities (813) (141)
Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 8 153 (407)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 8 695 1,102
Foreign exchange losses on cash and cash equivalents 8 (12) 0
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 8 836 695
The accompanying notes form part of the announcement.
1. Basis of Preparation
General Information
JD Sports Fashion Plc (the 'Company') is a company incorporated in the United
Kingdom and registered in England and Wales. The Consolidated Financial
Statements for the 52-week period ended 31 January 2026 represent those of
the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the 'Group'). The
comparative period is a 52-week period ended 1 February 2025. The financial
statements were authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 6 May
2026.
Basis of Preparation
While the financial information included in this preliminary announcement has
been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), this announcement does
not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRSs.
The announcement was approved by the Board of Directors on 6 May 2026. The
financial information in this announcement does not constitute the Group's
statutory accounts for the periods ended 31 January 2026, or 1 February 2025.
The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 January 2026, on which the
auditors have given an unqualified audit report, have not yet been filed with
the Registrar of Companies. The statutory accounts for the year ended 1
February 2025 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors
have reported on those accounts; their report was unqualified, did not include
a reference to any matters to which the auditors drew attention by way of
emphasis without qualifying their report and did not contain a statement
498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
The audited Consolidated Financial Statements from which the results are
extracted have been prepared under the historical cost convention in
accordance with IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), as adopted
by those parts of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting
under IFRS. The standards used are those published by the International
Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and effective at the time of preparing these
financial statements.
The Directors consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of
accounting in preparing the financial statements of the Group and Company.
Refinancing
Term Loan
On 8 July 2025 the Group entered into a new Term Loan facility for a total
commitment of $700 million for the purpose of refinancing the existing
Term Loan, which was drawn for the acquisition of Hibbett Inc in July 2024.
From the original Term Loan of $1 billion the balance of $700 million was
refinanced and the new facility was drawn in full. The counterparties to the
new Term Loan comprise a larger syndicate of 10 banks, representing an
increase on the lender group under the previous facility.
The term of the facility is three years and expires on 8 July 2028 followed by
two one-year extension options subject to lender consent and the loan is being
accounted for as a three-year arrangement. As these are contingent on
third-party agreement rather than being contractual rights of the Group, they
are not considered to be embedded derivatives or loan commitments.
The Group is subject to covenants on net debt leverage and a fixed charge
cover. The interest rate payable on the loan is at one, three or six month
intervals (at the Group's discretion) at a rate of SOFR (Secured Overnight
Financing Rate) plus a margin of 1%.
On an IFRS 16 basis, the Group reported net debt of £2,827 million, including
lease liabilities of £3,138 million, equating to a net leverage ratio of
1.4x. Including the Genesis put option liability, net debt increases by £787
million, resulting in a net leverage ratio of 1.9x, which remains within the
Group's investment grade parameters. The Group continues to maintain a strong
balance sheet, supported by significant liquidity headroom.
As at 31 January 2026 this facility encompassed cross-guarantees between the
Company, JD Sports Fashion Europe Holdings Limited, Genesis Holdings Inc,
Hibbett Retail Inc, The Finish Line Inc, The Finish Line USA Inc, Shoe Palace
Corporation, DTLR Inc, Sprinter Megacentros del Deporte SL, JD Spain Sports
Fashion 2010 SL, JD Sports Fashion Australia PTY Ltd, JD Sports Fashion SRL
and John David Sports Fashion (Ireland) Limited.
Bank Facilities
As at 31 January 2026 the Group had a £1 billion syndicated Revolving Credit
Facility ('RCF'). This was refinanced on 8 July 2025 and the previous £700
million RCF and $300 million Asset Based Lending facility were cancelled at
this time. The borrowers on this facility are JD Sports Fashion Plc, JD Sports
Fashion Europe Holdings Limited and Genesis Holdings Inc. The counterparties
to the new revolving credit facility (RCF) comprise a larger syndicate of 10
banks, representing an increase on the lender group under the previous
facility.
The term of the facility is five years and expires on 8 July 2030 followed by
two one-year extension options subject to lender consent. As these are
contingent on third-party agreement rather than being contractual rights of
the Group, they are not considered to be embedded derivatives or loan
commitments.
The Group is subject to covenants on net debt leverage and a fixed charge
cover. The interest rate payable on the loan is at one, three or six month
intervals (at the Group's discretion) at a base rate applicable to the
currency of the loan plus a margin of 0.8%. The facility is available to draw
in GBP, EUR and USD.
As at 31 January 2026 this facility encompassed cross-guarantees between the
Company, JD Sports Fashion Europe Holdings Limited, Genesis Holdings Inc,
Hibbett Retail Inc, The Finish Line Inc, The Finish Line USA Inc, Shoe Palace
Corporation, DTLR Inc, Sprinter Megacentros del Deporte SL, JD Spain Sports
Fashion 2010 SL, JD Sports Fashion Australia PTY Ltd, JD Sports Fashion SRL
and John David Sports Fashion (Ireland) Limited.
As the new Term Loan and RCF refinanced existing drawn balances, there was no
net cash movement at the date of refinancing, other than the settlement of
accrued interest and transactions fees, the latter having been capitalised to
be amortised to the income statement over the remaining term of the
facilities. The refinancing has been assessed as a modification of the
existing liabilities, as no substantive cash flows occurred and, other than an
increase in the size of the lender syndicate, the counterparties remained
unchanged.
Going Concern
The Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group and the Company
have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the
foreseeable future and therefore continue to adopt the going concern basis in
preparing the Group and Company financial statements. This conclusion is based
on the following considerations:
At 31 January 2026 the Group had a total cash and cash equivalents balance of
£836 million (1 February 2025: £695 million) (see Note 8).
As noted above, during the period the Group refinanced its syndicated bank
borrowing facility, increasing total committed facility to £1 billion, from
£700 million as at 1 February 2025. The facility has a maturity date of
8 July 2030, and includes two one-year extension options, subject to lender
consent. As at 31 January 2026 £13 million of these facilities had been
drawn down (1 February 2025: £36 million).
In addition, the Group entered into a new US Term Loan Facility Agreement with
total commitments of $700 million. The new facility was drawn in full on
inception and has a three-year term, maturing on 8 July 2028, followed by two
one-year extension options subject to lender consent.
The total liquidity from cash and available facilities is c.£1.8 billion at
31 January 2026 (1 February 2025: c.£1.8 billion). These facilities are
subject to certain covenants as noted above. The Directors believe that the
Group is well placed to manage its business risks successfully despite the
current uncertain economic outlook.
The Directors have prepared cash flow forecasts for the Group covering a
period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of the Group and
Company financial statements, including a range of severe but plausible
downside scenarios. These forecasts indicate that the Group and Company will
be able to operate within the level of its agreed facilities and in compliance
with applicable covenants.
The Directors have prepared severe but plausible downside scenarios which
cover the same period as the base case. An increase of US cost of goods
arising from geopolitical uncertainty has been considered, in addition to a
range of reasonably plausible downside scenarios for the purposes of viability
reporting. This has considered the specifics of a significant business
continuity event adversely impacting one of the Group's main Distribution
Centres (Kingsway) across the Q4 FY27 peak trading period; a significant
cyber-attack resulting in a significant proportion of the Group's online sales
platforms being unable to trade for a period of two months, impacting the peak
trading period of December 2026; and a severe but plausible reduction in the
allocation of inventory, or business interruption impacting the availability
of inventory, from one of our key sports fashion suppliers.
The forecast cash flows reflecting the above scenarios individually indicate
that there remains sufficient headroom for the Group to operate within the
committed facilities and to comply with all relevant banking covenants during
the forecast period. Furthermore, mitigating actions within the Group's
control could be taken, should these severe but plausible scenarios occur,
including reductions in capital expenditure, discretionary spend, dividends
and share buybacks. These mitigating actions have not been modelled.
A reverse stress test has also been performed on the base forecasts which
indicates that a combination of the above severe but plausible scenarios all
occurring at the same time would be required for the Group to breach a
covenant before consideration of mitigating actions. A combination of all the
factors above would not exhaust liquidity. This is not considered to be a
plausible scenario, as the combination of all scenarios simultaneously is
considered to be exceptionally remote.
The Directors have considered all of the factors noted above and are confident
that the Group has adequate resources to continue to meet all liabilities as
and when they fall due for a period of at least 12 months from the date of
approval of these financial statements. Accordingly, the financial statements
have been prepared on a going concern basis.
Alternative Performance Measures
The Directors measure the performance of the Group based on a range of
financial measures, including measures not recognised by UK-adopted
International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS'). These Alternative
Performance Measures ('APMs') may not be directly comparable with other
companies' APMs and the Directors do not intend these to be a substitute
for, or superior to, IFRS measures. The Directors believe that these
Alternative Performance Measures assist in providing additional useful
information on the trading performance of the Group.
APMs are used to enhance the comparability of information between reporting
periods, by accounting for adjusting items. Adjusting items are disclosed
separately when they are considered unusual in nature and not reflective of
the trading performance and profitability of the Group. The separate
reporting of adjusting items, which are presented as adjusting within the
relevant category in the Consolidated Income Statement, helps provide an
indication of the Group's trading performance. An explanation as to why
items have been classified as adjusting is given in Note 3.
Further information can be found in the Alternative Performance Measures
section on pages 41 to 45.
Adoption of New and Revised Standards
The following new standards and amendments became effective for the period
ended 31 January 2026. These have no significant impact on the consolidated
results or financial position.
• Amendments to IAS 21 - Lack of Exchangeability; and
• IFRS Practice Statement 1 - Management Commentary (revised).
At the date of authorisation of these Consolidated Financial Statements, the
Group has not applied the following new and revised standards and amendments
that have been issued but are not yet effective:
• Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7 - Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments (effective for periods commencing from
• 1 January 2026);
• Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7 - Contracts Referencing Nature-dependent Electricity (effective for periods commencing from 1
• January 2026);
• Annual Improvements to IFRS Accounting Standards - Volume 11 (effective for periods commencing from 1 January 2026);
• IAS 21 - Translation to a Hyperinflationary Presentation Currency (effective for periods commencing from 1 January 2026);
• IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosures in Financial statements (effective for periods commencing from 1 January 2027); and
• IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability (effective for periods commencing from 1 January 2027).
IFRS 18 will introduce five new requirements on presentation and disclosure in
the financial statements, with a focus on the income statement and reporting
of financial performance. Income and expenses in the income statement will be
classified into five categories - operating, investing, financing, income
taxes and discontinued operations. Two new sub-totals will be presented:
'Operating profit or loss' and 'Profit or loss before financing and income
tax'.
IFRS 18 will also require disclosures about management-defined performance
measures in the financial statements and disclosure of information based on
enhanced general requirements on aggregation and disaggregation. The Group
will apply the new standard for its financial period commencing 31 January
2027 and ending 29 January 2028, in line with the IFRS 18 mandatory effective
date of periods commencing after 1 January 2027. Retrospective application is
required, and so the comparative information for the financial period ending
30 January 2027 will be restated in accordance with IFRS 18.
The Group is currently assessing the impact of IFRS 18 and expects changes to
presentation of the statement of profit or loss. The Group's assessment is not
yet final and further changes upon the implementation of IFRS 18 may be
required.
The Group continues to monitor the potential impact of other new standards and
interpretations which may be endorsed and require adoption by the Group in
future reporting periods.
Accounting Policies
During the period, the Group has updated its accounting policies in relation
to Cost of Sales, Selling and Distribution Expenses and Inventories.
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales comprises the direct costs attributable to goods sold during the
period. This includes:
• Purchase cost of inventory, net of supplier rebates, marketing contributions and discounts, together with directly attributable costs incurred in bringing inventory to its present location and condition;
• Inventory shrinkage and stock losses recognised during the period;
• Inventory provisions and movements in provisions for obsolescence and
markdowns; and
• Inbound freight, import duties and other logistics costs associated with
transporting goods to the Group's distribution centres and retail stores. See
note 12 for further details on this.
Supplier rebates, discounts and marketing contributions received from
suppliers are recognised as a reduction in cost of sales where it is probable
that the amounts will be received and can be measured reliably.
Costs that are not directly attributable to bringing inventory to its present
location and condition are recognised within operating expenses and are not
included in cost of sales. These include general administrative expenses,
selling costs, store operating expenses (such as depreciation on right-of-use
assets, staff costs and utilities), fulfilment and distribution costs
associated with delivering goods directly from distribution centres to
customers, including online sales and 'Click & Collect' orders.
Selling and Distribution Expenses
Selling and distribution expenses are classified based on their function
within the Group. Selling and distribution expenses include all costs directly
associated with the marketing, selling, and fulfilling customer orders for the
Group's goods and services. These expenses include advertising and promotional
activities, store-related operating costs, online and multichannel customer
fulfilment costs, and other costs incurred in supporting customer transactions
and delivery to end customers. Depreciation and amortisation of all assets
used are included within selling and distribution expenses.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost is
determined using the weighted average method and comprises purchase costs and
other directly attributable costs incurred in bringing inventories to their
present location and condition, including directly attributable freight,
handling and distribution costs relating to the movement of inventory from the
distribution centres to stores. An element of supplier rebates is deferred
into inventory and released on a straight-line basis as the related inventory
is sold.
The Group makes provisions for obsolescence, mark downs and shrinkage based on
historical experience, the quality of the current season buy, market trends
and management estimates of future events. The provision requires estimates
for shrinkage, the expected future selling price of items and identification
of aged and obsolete items.
Critical Accounting Judgements and Key Sources of Estimation Uncertainty
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with adopted IFRSs
requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect
the application of policies and reported amounts of assets and liabilities,
income and expenses. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on
historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be
reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis of
making the judgements and estimates about carrying values of assets and
liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results
may differ from these estimates.
Critical Accounting Judgements
The following are critical judgements, apart from those involving estimations
(presented separately below), that management have made in the process of
applying the Group's accounting policies and that have the most effect on
amounts recognised in the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Adjusting Items
Management exercises significant judgement in assessing whether items should
be classified as adjusting items. This assessment covers the nature of the
item, cause of occurrence and/or scale of impact of that item on the reported
performance. In determining whether an item should be presented as adjusting,
the Group considers items which are significant because of either their
size or their nature which management believe would distort an understanding
of earnings if not separately presented. An explanation as to why items have
been classified as adjusting is given in Note 3. Further information about
metrics that the Group utilise which exclude adjusting items can be found in
the Alternative Performance Measures section on page 41 to 45.
Key Sources of Estimation Uncertainty
The key assumptions about the future, and other key sources of estimation
uncertainty at the reporting period end, that may have a significant risk of
causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities
within the next financial period are discussed below:
Genesis Put and Call Option
Genesis Put and Call Option agreements that allow the Group's equity partners
to require the Group to purchase a non-controlling interest are recorded in
the consolidated balance sheet initially at the present value of the
redemption amount, in accordance with IAS 32 'Financial Instruments:
Presentation'. On initial recognition, the corresponding amount is recognised
against the put and call option reserve. Changes in the measurement of the
financial liability due to the unwinding of the discount or changes in the
amount that the Group could be required to pay are recognised within finance
expenses through the adjusting items column in the Consolidated Income
Statement. If the contract expires without delivery, the carrying amount of
the financial liability is reclassified to equity, otherwise the financial
liability is derecognised for the amount settled.
The key significant option outstanding as at 31 January 2026 relates to the
Group's North American sub-group, Genesis. The Genesis put liability at
31 January 2026 was £787 million (2025: £831 million).
The Group uses a third-party valuation expert to independently determine the
present value of the exercise price of the Genesis put and call options. The
approach uses a Monte-Carlo simulation model applying a geometric Brownian
motion to project the share price and an arithmetic Brownian motion for the
projection of EBITDA forecasts. The critical estimate used to value the put
and call option liability is the EBITDA forecasts and growth assumptions for
future periods. Further information about the sensitivities used can be found
in Note 6.
Goodwill Impairment
The Group considers certain inputs used in the impairment testing of goodwill
and indefinite-lived intangible assets to be a key source of estimation
uncertainty due to the level of judgement involved in determining recoverable
amounts. In the current year this relates only to the Complementary goodwill
group of cash-generating units ('CGUs').
The recoverable amount of cash-generating units CGUs and groups of CGUs is
determined based on value-in-use calculations. These calculations require the
use of estimates and assumptions, in particular long-term growth rates used to
extrapolate cash flows beyond the forecast period and discount rates applied
to future cash flows (derived from the Group's weighted average cost of
capital).
These assumptions are inherently judgemental and are sensitive to changes in
economic and market conditions.
2. Segmental Analysis
In accordance with IFRS 8 'Operating Segments', the Group identifies and
reports operating segments based on the internal management reports that are
regularly reviewed by the Group's Chief Operating Decision Maker ('CODM') for
the purpose of allocating resources and assessing segment performance. The
Board has determined that the CODM is the Chief Executive Officer of JD Sports
Fashion Plc. The internal management reports provided to the CODM present
financial information by business segment, which reflects the Group's
organisational structure and the way in which the Group's operations are
managed and monitored. Segments are identified based on the distinct nature of
their products, services and geographical presence, as well as the financial
information used by the CODM to make strategic decisions.
The performance of each operating segment is assessed using measures such as
revenue, operating profit before adjusting items and other key financial
metrics, which are consistent with those included in the Group's internal
management reporting and regularly reviewed by the CODM. Certain central
administrative costs, including Group Directors' remuneration, are allocated
to the JD UK operating segment. This treatment is consistent with the basis on
which segment results are reported to and reviewed by the CODM.
The Group's reportable segments under IFRS 8 are 'JD', 'Complementary
Athleisure' and 'Sporting Goods and Outdoors'. In accordance with IFRS 8.12,
the Group has aggregated several operating segments with similar economic
characteristics into each of the reportable segments, while remaining
consistent with core principles of IFRS 8.
During the period, the Group renamed its 'Complementary Concepts' reporting
segment to 'Complementary Athleisure' to better reflect the nature of the
businesses included within the segment. There was no change to the composition
of the reportable segments or to previously reported segment financial
information.
Information regarding the Group's reportable segments for the 52 weeks to
31 January 2026 is shown below. The balances presented are the key
performance metrics assessed by the CODM.
Complementary Sporting Goods
JD Athleisure and Outdoors Total
Income statement £m £m £m £m
Revenue 7,945 3,208 1,509 12,662
Gross profit before adjusting items 3,779 1,500 672 5,951
Gross margin before adjusting items 47.6% 46.7% 44.5% 47.0%
Operating costs before adjusting items (3,115) (1,224) (577) (4,916)
Operating profit before adjusting items 664 276 95 1,035
Operating margin before adjusting items 8.4% 8.6% 6.3% 8.2%
Net finance expense (124) (45) (14) (183)
Profit before tax and adjusting items 540 231 81 852
Complementary Sporting Goods
JD Athleisure and Outdoors Total
Inventories £m £m £m £m
Inventories 1,007 662 348 2,017
Complementary Sporting Goods
JD Athleisure and Outdoors Total
Other segment information £m £m £m £m
Capital expenditure:
Intangible assets (software development) 25 4 5 34
Property, plant and equipment 269 84 32 385
Depreciation, amortisation and impairments:
Amortisation of intangible assets (adjusting items) 7 54 8 69
Amortisation of intangible assets (non-adjusting items) 33 10 5 48
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 178 78 31 287
Depreciation of right-of-use assets 330 173 60 563
Impairment of non-current assets (adjusting items) 62 42 4 108
Impairment of non-current assets (non-adjusting items) 14 1 1 16
The comparative segmental results for the 52 weeks to 1 February 2025 are
shown below:
Restated ((1))
Restated ((1)) Sporting
Restated ((1)) Complementary Goods Restated ((1))
JD Athleisure and Outdoors Total
Income statement £m £m £m £m
Revenue 7,798 2,165 1,495 11,458
Gross profit before adjusting items 3,742 976 663 5,381
Gross margin before adjusting items 48.0% 45.1% 44.3% 47.0%
Operating costs before adjusting items (2,997) (763) (572) (4,332)
Operating profit before adjusting items 745 213 91 1,049
Operating margin before adjusting items 9.6% 9.8% 6.1% 9.2%
Net finance expense (86) (24) (16) (126)
Profit before tax and adjusting items 659 189 75 923
(1) Please see Note 12 for
further details of the restatement.
Complementary Sporting Goods
JD Athleisure and Outdoors Total
Inventories £m £m £m £m
Inventories 1,009 651 361 2,021
Complementary Sporting Goods
JD Athleisure and Outdoors Total
Other segment information £m £m £m £m
Capital expenditure:
Intangible assets (software development) 21 1 6 28
Property, plant and equipment 397 44 37 478
Depreciation, amortisation and impairments:
Amortisation of intangible assets 53 29 15 97
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 172 27 31 230
Depreciation of right-of-use assets 282 108 68 458
Impairment of non-current assets (adjusting items) 104 - - 104
Impairment of non-current assets (non-adjusting items) 4 4 1 9
Geographical Information
The following table provides analysis of the Group's revenue by geographical
market, based on the geographical location of the company
that the product has been shipped from:
Revenue by Region
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
Revenue £m £m
UK 3,110 3,205
Europe 4,246 3,510
North America 4,779 4,242
Asia Pacific 527 501
12,662 11,458
The revenue from any individual country, with the exception of the UK (2026:
£3,110 million; 2025: £3,205 million) and US (2026: £4,617 million; 2025:
£4,111 million) is not more than 10% of the Group's total revenue.
Revenue by Channel
Restated((1))
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
Revenue £m £m
Retail stores 9,888 8,879
Online 2,638 2,453
Other((2)) 136 126
12,662 11,458
(1) Online sales include 'Click & Collect' and
'Ship-from-store' as these sales originate on our online platform and are
presented to the Chief Operating Decision Maker as online sales. Accordingly,
prior year comparatives have been re-presented to conform with the current
year presentation.
(2) Other relates to revenue from gym memberships, wholesale and
commission sales.
Revenue by Category
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
Revenue £m £m
Footwear 7,635 6,819
Apparel 3,803 3,550
Accessories 835 702
Other((3)) 389 387
12,662 11,458
(3) Other relates to revenue from sales of
outdoor living equipment, delivery income and revenue from gym memberships.
3. Adjusting Items
The Group exercises judgement in assessing whether items should be classified
as adjusting items. This assessment covers the nature of the item, cause of
occurrence and scale of impact of that item on the reported performance. In
determining whether items should be presented as adjusting items, the Group
considers items that are significant because of either their size or their
nature which management believe would distort an understanding of earnings if
not adjusted. In order for an item to be presented as an adjusting item, it
should typically meet at least one of the following criteria:
• Impairments of tangible and intangible assets, investments and loan
receivables not recoverable
• Unusual in nature or outside the normal course of business (for example, the
non-cash movement in the present value of put and call options, foreign
currency movements on non-trading intercompany balances, and material
non-recurring litigation matters)
• Items directly incurred as a result of either an acquisition, an anticipated
acquisition or a divestment, or arising from a major business change or
restructuring programme (including the amortisation of acquired intangible
assets, see below for further detail).
The separate reporting of items, which are presented as adjusting items within
the relevant category in the Consolidated Income Statement, helps provide an
indication of the Group's trading performance in the normal course of
business. The tax impact of these adjusting items is a tax credit of £50
million (2025: £47 million) as shown on the face of the Consolidated
Income Statement.
The total charge for the period is £223 million, of which £4 million relates
to a net cash outflow and £219 million was a non-cash charge.
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
£m £m
Items as a result of acquisitions, divestments, major business changes or
restructuring:
Acquisition-related costs - 9
Cost of sales - Adjusting items - 9
Items as a result of acquisitions, divestments, major business changes or
restructuring:
Acquisition-related costs 12 36
(Gain)/loss on divestments - (78)
Restructuring 16 -
Integration costs 18 5
Amortisation of acquired intangibles 69 57
Impairments of tangible and intangible assets and investments:
Impairments of tangible and intangible assets and investments 119 112
Items that are unusual in nature or outside the normal course of business:
Provision for litigation 14 -
Foreign exchange movements - 5
Administrative expenses - Adjusting items 248 137
Items that are unusual in nature or outside the normal course of business:
Put and call option (credit)/charge for the period (29) 62
Joint venture finance costs 4 -
Finance expenses - Adjusting items (25) 62
Adjusting items 223 208
Acquisition-related costs
Acquisition-related costs of £12 million have been recognised in the period
in relation to prior period acquisitions (Hibbett and Mainline Menswear). £6
million relates to the acquisition costs incurred in buying out the 20%
non-controlling interest ('NCI') in Mainline which completed in November 2024
and a further £6 million of non-cash costs in relation to Hibbett, reflecting
the current year impact of acquisition accounting recognised in the prior
period.
Divestments
No gains or losses on divestments were recognised in the current period (2025:
£78 million gain). In the prior period, the Group disposed of 21.58% of its
shareholding in Applied Nutrition. A gain of £51 million arose on disposal
(with proceeds of £73 million), together with a £24 million gain recognised
on the revaluation of the retained investment at the date of disposal. Net
gains on other disposals amounted to £3 million.
Restructuring
Restructuring costs of £16 million have been recognised in the current period
(2025: £Nil). These costs relate to provisions recognised in respect of the
closure of stores in Germany and the restructuring of the operating model,
including support functions, where a constructive obligation existed at the
balance sheet date.
Integration Costs
Integration costs of £18 million have been recognised in the current period
(FY25: £5 million) in relation to the integration of the Group's North
American businesses following the acquisition of Hibbett. This forms part of a
multi-year programme to create an integrated platform to support the
nationwide growth of the JD Brand and Community fascias in North America,
supported by a more efficient supply chain and back-office infrastructure.
Integration and related costs are expected to exceed $35 million, reflecting
additional investment in scaling shared services, technology and operational
capabilities beyond the initial integration scope, with these incremental
investments expected to deliver further synergies as the platform continues to
scale.
Amortisation of acquired intangibles
Amortisation of acquired intangibles of £69 million (FY25: £57 million) has
been presented as an adjusting item, consistent with the updated policy
introduced in the prior year. This has increased year on year due to the
annualisation impact of the Hibbett and Courir acquisitions.
Impairments of tangible and intangible asset and investments
The £119m charge in the current period reflects impairments and related costs
arising from the ongoing optimisation of the Group's store estate and
international footprint. This includes £93 million of impairment charges and
£5 million associated costs in respect of stores impacted by the Group's
strategic review and store closure programme, £15 million relating to the
impairment of the Sizeer fascia, and £6 million of costs associated with the
exit of the Derby Distribution Centre lease in FY26 following its closure in
FY25.
Store impairment charges of £93 million have been recognised in the period
along with £5 million associated closure costs, directly reflecting the
Group's strategic restructuring of the store portfolio. This includes £63
million in Europe and £28 million relating to Hibbett. As outlined in the CEO
report, we are maintaining a disciplined focus on store productivity,
including a shift towards "fewer, bigger, better" locations in the UK,
alongside targeted optimisation of underperforming stores across Europe. In
Hibbett, the charge reflects the planned closure of lower volume, remote
stores with a legacy sporting goods offer, which are not aligned with the
Group's strategy to improve overall store productivity and optimise the store
portfolio over the next three years.
The impairment charge arises from updated future cash flow assumptions
following the strategic review to ensure that store asset carrying values are
aligned to expected future performance. The charge is non-cash.
The prior year charge of £112 million included significant impairments and
closure costs relating to the Derby Distribution Centre and the initial phase
of the European store estate review, forming part of the wider European
strategy review that has continued into the current year and is reflected in
the European impairment charges noted above.
Provision for litigation
During the year, the Group recognised a provision of £14 million in respect
of a regulatory matter relating to historical employment practices in the
United States. The Group had taken actions in prior periods to strengthen its
compliance framework in the relevant areas, including enhancements to
policies, processes and governance.
Put and call option (credit)/charge for the period
A £29 million net credit has been recognised, reflecting the movement in the
present value of put and call options over non-controlling interests. This
comprises a £44 million credit in respect of Genesis Topco Inc ('Genesis')
the holding company for the Group's North American businesses, and a £15
million charge in relation to Cosmos.
The amendment to the Genesis shareholders' agreement in March 2025, which
deferred the exercise profile of the options to 2029 and 2030, represents a
material change in the period. The resulting credit reflects the impact of
this new agreement, updated forecasts for the underlying business, and
movements in the USD/GBP exchange rate, which together have reduced the
Sterling value of the option liability.
The Cosmos charge reflects an increase in the valuation of the option
liability, driven by updated valuation assumptions. As at the year end, the
put and call option was exercisable by either party within 12 months.
This compares to a £62 million charge in the prior year, which was driven by
a significant increase in Genesis valuation following the acquisition of
Hibbett.
Joint venture finance costs
This comprises £4 million relating to the settlement of the Group's share of
a bank guarantee provided to the external lender of its JD Israel joint
venture, crystallised upon disposal of its interest to its joint venture
partner for nil consideration.
4. Income Tax Expense
The total tax charge included in the Consolidated Income Statement consists of
current and deferred tax.
Current Income Tax
Current tax is the expected tax payable on taxable income for the financial
period, using the applicable enacted tax rates in each relevant jurisdiction.
Tax expense is recognised in the Consolidated Income Statement except to the
extent it relates to items recognised in the Consolidated Statement of
Comprehensive Income or directly in the Consolidated Statement of Changes in
Equity, in which case it is recognised in the relevant statement,
respectively.
Deferred Tax
Deferred tax is accounted for using the balance sheet liability method, by
providing for temporary differences that arise between the carrying amounts of
assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used
for taxation purposes. The following temporary differences are not provided
for:
- goodwill not deductible for tax purposes;
- the initial recognition of assets or liabilities that affect neither
accounting nor taxable profit; and
- differences relating to investments in subsidiaries to the extent that they
will probably not reverse in the foreseeable future.
Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the
period when the liability is settled or the asset realised, based on the tax
rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet
date. Deferred tax is charged or credited in the Consolidated Income
Statement, except when it relates to items charged or credited directly to the
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity or the Consolidated Statement of
Comprehensive Income, in which case the deferred tax is recognised in the
relevant statement, respectively.
Deferred tax assets are reviewed at each reporting date. In considering their
recoverability, the Group assesses the likelihood of them being recovered
within a reasonably foreseeable timeframe and considers the future expected
profit profile and business model of each relevant company or country,
together with any legislative restrictions on use. This approach is consistent
with that adopted for the assessment of other financial statement items, with
the recognition period based on the appropriate jurisdictional tax rules. The
estimates take account of the inherent uncertainties constraining the expected
level of profit in some territories and any associated climate-related risks.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset against each other when there
is a legally enforceable right to offset current taxation assets against
current taxation liabilities and the intention is to settle these on a net
basis.
Tax provisions are recognised for uncertain tax positions where a risk of an
additional tax liability has been identified and it is probable that the Group
will be required to settle that tax. Measurement is dependent on management's
expectation of the outcome of decisions by tax authorities in the various tax
jurisdictions in which the Group operates. This is assessed on a case-by-case
basis using in-house tax experts, professional advisers and previous
experience.
Pillar Two Model Rules
The OECD Pillar Two GloBE Rules ('Pillar Two') introduce a global minimum
corporation tax rate of 15% applicable to multi-national enterprise groups
with global revenue over €750 million.
The Pillar Two rules first applied to the Group for its accounting period
commencing 4 February 2024, and the rules continue to apply to the Group for
its accounting period commencing 2 February 2025.
The definition of a 'Group' requires the impact of Pillar Two to be calculated
in conjunction with that of Pentland Group Holdings Limited and its
subsidiaries ('the Pentland Group'). The Group is working with the Pentland
Group to ensure it will be compliant. The Group has performed an assessment of
its exposure to Pillar Two income taxes and the Pillar Two current tax charge
for the period ended 31 January 2026 is £Nil (FY25: £0.3 million) (this
excludes any liability of the wider Pentland Group). The Group is adopting the
mandatory temporary exception from the recognition and disclosure of deferred
taxes arising from the jurisdictional implementation of the Pillar Two model
rules. The Group does not meet the threshold for application of the Pillar One
transfer pricing rules.
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
£m £m
Current tax
UK corporation tax at 25.0% (2025: 25.0%) 192 213
Adjustment relating to prior periods (3) (17)
Total current tax charge 189 196
Deferred tax
Deferred tax (origination and reversal of temporary differences) (30) (23)
Adjustment relating to prior periods 2 2
Total deferred tax credit (28) (21)
Income tax expense 161 175
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
£m £m
Profit before tax multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax 25.0% 157 179
((1)) (2025: 25.0%)
Effects of:
Expenses not deductible ((2)) 15 15
Put and call option movement not deductible((3)) (7) 16
Depreciation and impairment of non-qualifying non-current assets((4)) 3 3
Non-qualifying profit on sale of PPE((5)) (1) 0
Non-taxable income((6)) (2) (23)
Effect of tax rates in foreign jurisdictions((7)) (12) (14)
Research and development tax credits and other allowances((8)) (5) (5)
Under provided in prior periods((9)) (1) (15)
Change in unrecognised temporary differences((10)) 2 4
Other taxes due ((11)) 12 15
Income tax expense 161 175
(1) The standard rate of corporation tax for the period is 25%, the UK
mainstream tax rate.
(2) Certain legal and professional fees, together with the Germany
restructuring costs incurred in the current period, are not deductible
or tax purposes.
(3) The movements in the put and call options per Note 6 are not deductible
for tax.
(4) The depreciation adjustment relates to UK assets which are not eligible
for capital allowances.
(5) The loss relates to the sale of tangible assets which are not eligible for
capital allowances.
(6) The current year relates to some small incentives which result in
non-taxable elements of trading profits. In the prior year this related to the
non-taxable gain on the sale of shares in associates.
(7) A proportion of the Group's profits arise outside of the UK and are taxed
at the prevailing tax rate.
(8) R&D and general business tax credits have been claimed in the
qualifying jurisdictions.
(9) The prior period adjustment reflects net current and deferred tax
movements between Group reporting provisions and submitted returns.
(10) The adjustment represents losses created in the period for which no
deferred tax asset has been recognised, due to a lack of certainty over future
taxable profits arising.
(11) Other taxes due are primarily in respect of US state taxes but also
include local taxes payable in other overseas jurisdictions. There is no
top-up tax charge relating to tax under the OECD Pillar Two GloBE Rules (FY25:
£0.3 million).
5. Earnings Per Ordinary Share
Basic and Adjusted Earnings Per Ordinary Share
The calculation of basic earnings per ordinary share at 31 January 2026 is
based on the profit for the period attributable to equity holders of the
parent of £436 million (2025: £490 million) and a weighted average number
of ordinary shares outstanding during the 52-week period ended 31 January
2026 of 5,057,596,281 (2025: 5,159,697,637). This weighted average number of
shares excludes treasury shares purchased in the period and shares held by the
Employment Benefit Trust ('EBT').
As announced on the 9 April 2025, the Group commenced a share buyback
programme to repurchase the Group's own ordinary shares on the open market.
During the 52-week period ended 31 January 2026, the Group repurchased a total
of 236,801,637 ordinary shares, representing 4.6% of the issued share
capital as at the beginning of the period, at a total cost of £201 million,
inclusive of transaction costs. The average price paid per share was £0.85.
The repurchased shares were held in treasury or cancelled as of 31 January
2026, and the cost has been recognised as a deduction from equity
in accordance with IAS 32 'Financial Instruments: Presentation'. No gain or
loss has been recognised in the Consolidated Income Statement in relation to
these transactions. As at 31 January 2026, 79,897,460 shares were held in
treasury at a cost of £66 million.
There have been no other transactions involving ordinary shares or potential
ordinary shares in the period. Please see Note 11 for share transactions after
the period end.
Adjusted basic earnings per ordinary share have been based on the profit for
the period attributable to equity holders of the parent for each financial
period but excluding the post-tax effect of adjusting items. The Directors
consider that this gives a more useful measure of the trading performance and
profitability of the Group.
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
millions millions
Issued ordinary shares at beginning and end of period 5,183 5,183
Shares bought back in the period (and cancelled) (157) -
Issued ordinary shares at end of period 5,026 5,183
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
£m £m
Profit for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent 436 490
Adjusting items attributable to equity holders of the parent 200 194
Tax relating to adjusting items attributable to equity holders of the parent (44) (45)
Profit for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent excluding 592 639
adjusting items
millions millions
Weighted average number of ordinary shares at end of the period (basic) 5,058 5,160
Dilution - Effect of potentially dilutive share options and awards 54 -
Weighted average number of ordinary shares at the end of the period (diluted) 5,112 5,160
Basic earnings per ordinary share 8.63p 9.50p
Diluted earnings per ordinary share 8.54p 9.50p
Adjusted basic earnings per ordinary share 11.71p 12.39p
Adjusted diluted earnings per ordinary share 11.58p 12.39p
6. Put and Call Option Liabilities
2026 2025
£m £m
Current liabilities 39 188
Non-current liabilities 816 669
Total put and call option liabilities 855 857
Put and call options are in place over all or part of the remaining
non-controlling interest shareholding in various subsidiaries. The Group
recognises put and call options over non-controlling interests in its
subsidiary undertakings as a liability in the Consolidated Statement of
Financial Position at the present value of the estimated exercise price of the
put and call option. The only material put and call option remaining as at
31 January 2026 is Genesis at £787 million (2025: Genesis £831 million).
The Group has used a third-party valuation expert to estimate the present
value of the Group's material put and call option liabilities using a
Monte-Carlo simulation model, applying a geometric Brownian motion to project
the share price and an arithmetic Brownian motion for the projection of
EBITDA. The option formula and multiple are stated in the option agreement
allowing the strike price to be calculated from the simulated EBITDA. Upon
initial recognition of put and call options, a corresponding entry is made to
Other Equity (put and call option reserve), and for subsequent changes on
remeasurement of the liability the corresponding entry is made to adjusting
items in the Consolidated Income Statement.
Inputs to the Monte-Carlo Simulation Models
The Group has used the Board approved 5-year plan to estimate profit and cash
flow forecasts for future periods.
In estimating the present value of the Group's material put and call option
liabilities, the key inputs to the Monte-Carlo simulation
models are as follows:
· The EBITDA forecasts and growth assumptions for future periods
including forecast net cash/debt and forecast capital expenditure, working
capital movements and taxation.
· The EBITDA is projected using an Arithmetic Brownian Motion
EBITDA drift. The drift for each time period is estimated from forecast
EBITDA and its standard deviation is estimated from historical EBITDA data.
· The risk-free discount rates, reflecting the current market
assessment of the time value of money, used to discount the purchase price
(subject to the option pricing cap as defined in the shareholder agreement) to
present value.
Current Year Transactions
Genesis
In March 2025, an amendment was made to the Genesis shareholders' agreement.
Under the revised terms, the exercise periods for the Non-Controlling
Interest ('NCI') put option and the JD call options have been deferred and
could be paid in two equal instalments of 10% with two exercise periods in
2029 and 2030, as opposed to the previous agreement of four equal instalments
of 5% with four exercise periods between 2025 and 2028. Any option tranche
can be deferred into the following exercise period, in line with the previous
agreement. There have been no other changes to key terms in the agreement,
other than the exercise periods noted above.
Thailand
On 30 January 2026, the Group entered into a transaction relating to its
subsidiary, JD Sports (Thailand) Limited, under which a third-party acquired
40% of the shareholding of the subsidiary, for which the Group received cash
consideration of THB 469 million (£11 million).
The arrangements include put and call options over the 40% interest, together
with other governance and contractual rights, which result in the Group
retaining control of the subsidiary in accordance with IFRS 10.
Accordingly, the transaction has been accounted for as an equity transaction.
No gain or loss was recognised in the Consolidated Income Statement and there
was no derecognition of assets or liabilities.
The cash inflow arising from the transaction has been presented within
financing activities in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. An initial
liability of £27 million has been recognised during the current period in
respect of put and call options over the remaining 40% interest. The options
are exercisable at five‑year intervals, with the first exercise date being 7
May 2031. The exercise price is determined by applying a multiple to profit
before tax for the relevant financial period.
Other Options
Within other options the largest value options at FY26 are Cosmos at £39
million, all of which is classified as current (2025: £25 million, £11
million of which was classified as current) and JD Thailand at £27 million,
all of which is non-current. Management has used a third-party
valuation specialist to value these options. The valuation technique is
consistent with that outlined above for material options. The remaining
options are valued in house.
Genesis Other Total
£m £m liability
At 3 February 2024 763 47 810
Options lapsed and disposed during the period - (15) (15)
Increase/(decrease) in the present value of 68 (6) 62
the existing option liability
At 1 February 2025 831 26 857
New options - 27 27
(Decrease)/increase in the present value of (44) 15 (29)
the existing option liability
At 31 January 2026 787 68 855
Sensitivity Analysis - Genesis Put and Call Option
Sensitivity analysis was performed over a key variable input to the valuation
of the Genesis put and call option. The key variable input was determined to
be the EBITDA forecasts per the Board approved five-year plan. 15% was
determined to be a reasonably possible change for the EBITDA forecasts
included in the approved cash flow forecasts, reflecting recent experience in
levels of forecasting accuracy.
The result was that:
- a reduction of 15% to the forecast EBITDA would result in a
reduction to the put and call option liability of £147 million (2025:
£104 million); and
- an increase of 15% to the forecast EBITDA would result in an
increase to the put and call option liability of £142 million (2025: £92
million).
Current Options - Options Details
Average EBITDA Recognised
growth Discount rate at 31 January
Company Options in existence Exercise periods Methodology Maximum price assumptions applied 2026
Genesis Put option whereby The put options are The option price is The option 6.9% 3.39% - 787
Topco JD Sports Fashion Plc exercisable within 30 calculated based on price shall (2025: 13.9%) 3.64%
Inc. may be required to calendar days after a multiple of not exceed The lower (2025:
acquire the remaining the determination of earnings before £1.46 average 3.91% -
20% of the issued the final put and call interest, tax, billion. EBITDA 4.37%)
share capital of value for the financial depreciation and growth
Genesis Topco Inc in period. The first put amortisation for the assumptions
two equal tranches period will occur after relevant financial reflect the
with the ability to roll the determination of period, less closing resetting of
over a tranche that the put and call value cash and debt ('net medium-term
has not previously for the financial period debt'). market
been subject to the ending on 3 February EBITDA is expectations
exercise of a put 2029. determined under (as
option. The final put option US GAAP, and net communicated
can be exercised debt is calculated to the market
within a period of 30 based on in April 2025).
days after the end of management's
the fiscal period interpretation of the
ending 2 February contract, specifically
2030. excluding operating
lease liabilities,
consistent with ASC
840 at the contract
date.
Other put 68
option
liabilities
Total 855
liability
7. Dividends
Dividend distribution to the Company's shareholders is recognised as a
liability in the Group and Company financial statements in the period in which
it is approved.
After the reporting date, the following dividend was proposed by the Directors
and will be payable to all shareholders on the register at 3 July 2026. The
dividends were not provided for at the reporting date. At the time of
approval, the Company had sufficient distributable reserves to support the
proposed dividend.
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 2026 1 February 2025
£m £m
0.87 pence per ordinary share (2025: 0.67 pence) 44 35
Dividends on Issued Ordinary Share Capital
The table below presents dividends declared and recognised in the period.
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 1 February
2026 2025
£m £m
Final dividend of 0.67 pence (2025: 0.60 pence) per qualifying ordinary share 35 31
paid in respect of prior period, but not recognised as a liability in that
period
Interim dividend of 0.33 pence (2025: 0.33 pence) per qualifying ordinary 17 17
share paid in respect of current period
52 48
8. Analysis of Net Debt
Net debt consists of cash and cash equivalents together with other borrowings
from bank loans and overdrafts, other loans, loan notes, lease liabilities and
similar hire purchase contracts.
On
acquisition & Lease
disposal of additions,
As at 1 subsidiaries, terminations,
February associates and FX modifications & As at 31
2025 NCIs Cash flow movement reassessments January
£m £m £m £m £m 2026
Cash and cash equivalents 731 11 124 (12) - 854
Overdrafts (36) - 18 - - (18)
Cash and cash equivalents for the 695 11 142 (12) - 836
purposes of the Consolidated Statement
of Cash Flows
Bank loans (643) - 56 61 - (525)
Net cash before lease liabilities 52 11 198 49 - 311
Lease liabilities (3,059) - 508 28 (615) (3,138)
Total liabilities from financing activities (3,702) - 564 89 (615) (3,663)
Net (debt)/cash (3,007) 11 706 77 (615) (2,827)
On
acquisition & Lease
disposal of additions,
As at 3 subsidiaries, terminations, As at 1
February associates and FX modifications & February
2024 NCIs Cash flow movement reassessments 2025
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Cash and cash equivalents 1,153 76 (498) - - 731
Overdrafts (60) - 24 - (36)
Cash and cash equivalents 9 - (9) - - -
held-for-sale
Cash and cash equivalents for the 1,102 76 (483) - - 695
purposes of the Consolidated Statement
of Cash Flows
Bank loans (70) (228) (364) 19 - (643)
Net cash/(debt) before lease liabilities 1,032 (152) (847) 19 - 52
Lease liabilities (2,484) (381) 420 12 (626) (3,059)
Total liabilities from financing activities (2,554) (609) 56 31 (626) (3,702)
Net (debt)/cash (1,452) (533) (427) 31 (626) (3,007)
In addition to the liabilities included in the table above, the Group has
accrued put and call option liabilities at 31 January 2026 of £855 million
(2025: £857 million), which are not classified as net debt in the note above.
9. Cash flows from operating activities
52 weeks to 31 52 weeks to 1
January 2026 February 2025
£m £m
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit for the period 468 540
Adjustments for:
Income tax expense 161 175
Finance expenses (non-adjusting) 194 153
Finance expenses (adjusting) (25) 62
Financial income (non-adjusting) (11) (27)
Depreciation and amortisation of non-current assets (non-adjusting) 897 729
Depreciation and amortisation of non-current assets (adjusting) 69 57
Share-based payment charge 5 1
(Profit)/loss on disposal of non-current assets (3) 18
Profit on disposal of subsidiaries/associates/joint ventures (adjusting) - (81)
Loss/(gain) on FX forward contracts 16 (10)
Impairment of other intangibles and non-current assets (non-adjusting) 17 12
Impairment of goodwill and fascia names (adjusting) 15 5
Impairment of other intangibles and non-current assets (adjusting) 98 108
Other non-cash items (non-adjusting) (12) -
Other non-cash items (adjusting) 62 24
Share of profit of equity-accounted investees (net of tax) - (5)
Profit before working capital changes 1,951 1,761
Increase in inventories (55) (10)
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables (84) 32
Decrease in trade and other payables (109) (159)
Cash generated from operations 1,703 1,624
10. Contingent Liabilities
Contingent liabilities are potential future cash outflows, where the
likelihood of payment is considered more than remote but is not considerable
probable or cannot be fully measured.
The activities of the Group are overseen by regulators around the world and,
whilst the Group strives to ensure full compliance with all its regulatory
obligations, periodic reviews are inevitable, which may result in a financial
penalty. If the risk of a financial penalty arising from one of these reviews
is more than remote but not probable or cannot be measured reliably then the
Group will disclose this matter as a contingent liability. If the risk of a
financial penalty is considered probable and can be measured reliably then the
Group would make a provision for this matter.
The Group had no material contingent liabilities at 31 January 2026 (2025:
none).
11. Post Balance Sheet Events
Disposal of Interest in JD Israel
On 15 February 2026, the Group completed the disposal of its interest in the
JD Israel joint venture entities to its joint venture partner, MGS, for nil
consideration.
A provision in respect of the exit was recognised in the year. See Note 3 for
further information.
Share Buyback
As announced on 23 February 2026, the Company has commenced a further share
buyback programme to repurchase ordinary shares with a market value of up to
£200 million, in addition to the two £100 million schemes both completed
during FY26. The purpose of the programme is to reduce share capital and,
accordingly, the shares repurchased will be cancelled or held in treasury. The
first tranche of £100 million will complete by 31 July 2026, with the second
following thereafter for the sum of up to £100 million.
Disposal of Interest in Applied Nutrition
Subsequent to the reporting date of 31 January 2026, the Group committed to a
plan to dispose of its remaining investment in Applied Nutrition. No such
decision had been made as at the reporting date.
Accordingly, the criteria for classification as held for sale under IFRS 5
Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations were met only
after the reporting date, and the investment has therefore not been classified
as held for sale at 31 January 2026.
In March and April 2026, the Group reduced its shareholding from 9.78% to 9.1%
through a series of partial disposals, generating proceeds of approximately
£2 million. On 16 April 2026, the Group disposed of its remaining 9.1%
shareholding for cash proceeds of £49 million.
12. Prior Period Adjustments
During the period, the Group identified an adjustment relating to the
classification of certain prior year expenses. The impact of this adjustment
on the Consolidated Income Statement is presented below:
52 weeks to 1 February 2025
Reported Adjustment Restated
£m £m £m
Revenue 11,458 - 11,458
Cost of sales (5,995) (91) (6,086)
Gross profit 5,463 (91) 5,372
Selling and distribution expenses (3,933) 91 (3,842)
Administrative expenses (657) - (657)
Share of profit of equity-accounted investees 5 - 5
Other operating income 25 - 25
Operating profit 903 - 903
Finance income 27 - 27
Finance expenses (215) - (215)
Net finance expense (188) - (188)
Profit before tax 715 - 715
Income tax expense (175) - (175)
Profit for the period 540 - 540
Adjustment - classification of expenses within cost of sales and selling and
distribution
As part of the FY26 close process, the Group has reclassified certain costs
related to commercial activities and logistics, to reflect more appropriate
accounting presentation within the income statement.
The result is a net £91 million reclassification from operating costs to cost
of sales; accordingly, comparative amounts for the 52-week period ended 1
February 2025 have been restated.
This adjustment has no impact on profit for the period or the Consolidated
Statement of Cash Flows.
Disclosure adjustments
Certain prior period disclosure amounts have been reclassified for
presentation purposes; refer to Note 2 (segmental revenue channel split), and
the Alternative Performance Measures section (free cash flow).
Alternative Performance Measures
The Directors measure the performance of the Group based on a range of
financial measures, including measures not recognised by UK-adopted
International Accounting Standards. These Alternative Performance Measures
('APMs') may not be directly comparable with other companies' APMs and the
Directors do not intend these to be a substitute for, or superior to, IFRS
measures. The Directors believe that these APMs assist in providing
additional useful information on the trading performance of the Group and
enhance the comparability of information between reporting periods, notably by
excluding adjusting items.
APMs have been updated in FY26 following a comprehensive review and refresh of
the Group's Key Performance Indicators ('KPIs') during the year, particularly
in relation to non-financial measures. The updated KPIs are intended to better
reflect how the business is managed and how performance is assessed against
the Group's strategic priorities. As a result, certain APM definitions and
adjustments have been revised to ensure alignment with the updated KPI
framework. Prior period comparatives have been disclosed, where appropriate,
to maintain consistency and comparability.
Profit Before Tax and Adjusting Items
Profit before tax and adjusting items highlights our profitability excluding
adjusting items but after our net finance expense which includes both debt and
lease financing costs.
Adjusted Basic Earnings Per Share
The calculation of basic earnings per share is detailed in Note 5 to the
financial statements. Adjusted basic earnings per ordinary share has
been based on the profit for the period attributable to equity holders of the
parent for each financial period but excluding the post-tax effect of
adjusting items. A reconciliation between basic earnings per share and
adjusted basic earnings per share is shown below:
2026 2025
Basic earnings per share per Note 5 8.63p 9.50p
Adjusting items 3.95p 3.76p
Tax relating to adjusting items (0.87)p (0.87)p
Adjusted basic earnings per ordinary share 11.71p 12.39p
Adjusting Items
The Group exercises judgement in assessing whether items should be classified
as adjusting items.
The separate reporting of items, which are presented as adjusting items within
the relevant category in the Consolidated Income Statement, helps provide an
indication of the Group's trading performance in the normal course of
business. An explanation as to why individual items have been classified as
adjusting is given in Note 3 to this release.
Furthermore, APMs excluding adjusting items are intended to enhance the
comparability of information between reporting periods and
to help to provide an indication of the Group's trading performance.
Capital Expenditure
Capital Expenditure is the measure of total cash invested each period to
maintain or build new retail fascias, logistics infrastructure, or technology
assets. This investment is in the ongoing business and is invested to deliver
growth in organic sales or improvements in gross profit or operating profit.
This APM is therefore useful to understand the investment the Company is
making in its ongoing assets for which a return on investment is expected in
the future.
This measure excludes other items within net cash used in investing activities
in the cash flow statement as these are not related to investments in the
ongoing business, but to acquisitions, investments or disposals of
subsidiaries or joint ventures, proceeds of sale of non-current assets or
interest received.
The table below details the cash flow expenditure on capital investment as
detailed in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.
2026 2025
£m £m
Acquisition of intangibles (software development) 34 28
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment 367 487
Total capital expenditure 401 515
An alternative presentation of this is as follows:
2026 2025
£m £m
Stores & gyms 331 346
Supply chain infrastructure 44 110
Technology and other 26 59
Total capital expenditure 401 515
Effective Tax Rate Before Adjusting Items
Being the adjusted tax charge as a percentage of the adjusted profit before
tax as outlined in the Consolidated Income Statement.
2026 2025
£m £m
Income tax expense before adjusting items 211 222
Profit before tax and adjusting items 852 923
Effective tax rate before adjusting items 24.8% 24.1%
Income Tax Expense Before Adjusting Items
Income tax expense before the impact of adjusting items as shown in the
Consolidated Income Statement and used in the Adjusted Effective Rate of
Taxation measure shown above.
2026 2025
£m £m
Income tax expense 161 175
Effect of adjusting items on income tax 50 47
Income tax expense before adjusting items 211 222
Operating Cash Flow Net of Lease Repayments
Operating cashflow net of lease repayments is the movement in cash and cash
equivalents period on period excluding the impact of working capital, capital
expenditure, income taxes, acquisition of subsidiaries or non-controlling
interests, cash proceeds from disposals, purchase of equity investments,
dividends paid to equity shareholders and non-controlling interests.
Free Cash Flow
Free cash flow represents the period-on-period movement in cash and cash
equivalents generated from the Group's underlying operations. It excludes cash
flows relating to adjusting items, acquisitions or disposals, share buybacks,
equity investments, dividends paid to shareholders and non-controlling
interests, and the drawdown or repayment of interest-bearing loans and
borrowings. This performance measure provides insight into the cash generated
from the Group's underlying operations, including capital expenditure
reinvested in the business. It excludes cash flows associated with capital
allocation and financing decisions (dividends, share buybacks, disposals,
acquisitions and debt principal movements) and cash flows related to operating
adjusting items, as these are not considered to reflect the underlying
performance of the business. This has been re-named from the prior year
presentation 'Net cash flow before dividends, financing, acquisitions and
disposals'.
Restated((1))
52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 2026 1 February 2025
£m £m
Profit before tax 629 715
Add back impairments of tangible, intangible assets and investments 130 125
Add back other non-cash adjusting items 62 109
Add back cash adjusting items 4 -
Add back non-lease net finance expense 9 -
Less profit on disposal of associates - (75)
Depreciation and amortisation of non-current assets 966 786
Repayment of principal portion of lease liabilities (508) (420)
Other((1)) 17 27
Operating cash flow net of lease repayments 1,309 1,267
Change in working capital (248) (137)
Capital expenditure (401) (515)
Acquisition of non-current assets ((1)) (12) (19)
Income taxes paid (165) (243)
Non-lease net interest paid((1)) (21) (14)
Free cash flow((1)) 462 339
Cash outflow on adjusting items (4) -
Repayment of interest-bearing loans and borrowings (463) (501)
Drawdown of interest-bearing loans and borrowings 407 865
Payment of arrangement fees on refinancing (7) -
Acquisition of subsidiaries and NCI - (1,157)
Cash consideration of disposals - 95
Cash received under shareholder arrangements relating to a subsidiary 11 -
Equity dividends paid (52) (48)
Share buyback programme (201) -
Dividends paid to NCI in subsidiaries net of dividend received - -
Change in cash and cash equivalents((2)) 153 (407)
Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the period((2)) 695 1,102
Foreign exchange losses on cash and cash equivalents (12) -
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period((2)) 836 695
(1) The Group has updated its cash flow KPI from operating cash flow net of
lease repayments to free cash flow. As a result, acquisition of non-current
assets and non-lease net interest paid are now presented as separate line
items within free cash flow (previously included within 'Other' operating cash
flows in FY25). Prior year comparatives have been represented for
comparability, however, there is no net impact on free cash flow or the metric
under its previous title.
(2) Cash and cash equivalents equates to the cash and cash equivalents
presented in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, as reconciled in Note
8.
Net Cash Before Lease Liabilities
Net cash before lease liabilities consists of cash and cash equivalents
together with other borrowings from bank loans and overdrafts but before lease
liabilities.
Net cash before lease liabilities is a measure of the Group's net indebtedness
that provides an indicator of the overall strength of the Consolidated
Statement of Financial Position. It is also a single measure that can be used
to assess the combined effect of the Group's cash position and its
indebtedness. Net cash before lease liabilities is considered to be an APM as
it is not defined in IFRS. The most directly comparable IFRS measure is the
aggregate of borrowings and lease liabilities (current and non-current) and
cash and cash equivalents.
A reconciliation of these measures with net cash can be found in Note 8.
2026 2025
£m £m
Net debt (2,827) (3,007)
Lease liabilities 3,138 3,059
Net cash before lease liabilities 311 52
Net Finance Expense Before Adjusting Items
Net finance expense before adjusting items consists of the net of finance
income and finance expense before adjusting items included within finance
income and expense. Net finance expenses is a measure of the Group's net
finance expense before the impact of any movement in valuation of put and call
options, and impairment loss on financial assets.
52 weeks 52 weeks
2026 2025
£m £m
Net finance expenses (158) (188)
Adjusting items (in finance expenses) (25) 62
Net finance expense before adjusting items (183) (126)
The table below shows a reconciliation of statutory operating profit for the
52-week period ended 31 January 2026 to the alternative performance measure,
operating profit before adjusting items after lease interest for the same
52-week period ended 31 January 2026.
Operating profit IFRS 16 lease Adjusting items Operating profit
before adjusting interest for the period
items after lease
interest
52 weeks 52 weeks 52 weeks 52 weeks
2026 2026 2026 2026
£m £m £m £m
JD Group Total
JD
JD UK Total 274 22 (13) 283
JD & Finish Line NAM 142 30 (50) 122
JD Asia Pacific 58 10 - 68
JD Europe 88 40 (78) 50
JD Total 562 102 (141) 523
Complementary Athleisure
Community 211 21 (64) 168
Complementary 32 12 (26) 18
Complementary Athleisure Total 243 33 (90) 186
Sporting Goods & Outdoor
Outdoor (3) 4 (8) (7)
Sporting Goods 84 10 (9) 85
Sporting Goods & Outdoor Total 81 14 (17) 78
TOTAL GROUP 886 149 (248) 787
The table below shows a reconciliation of statutory operating profit for the
52-week period ended 1 February 2025 to the alternative performance measure,
operating profit before adjusting items after lease interest for 52-week
period ended 1 February 2025.
Operating profit IFRS 16 lease Adjusting items Operating profit
before adjusting interest for the period
items after
interest on lease
liabilities
52 weeks 52 weeks 52 weeks 52 weeks
2025 2025 2025 2025
£m £m £m £m
JD Group Total
JD
JD UK Total 291 19 (12) 298
JD & Finish Line NAM 232 24 (7) 249
JD Asia Pacific 62 8 - 70
JD Europe 80 30 (29) 81
JD Total 665 81 (48) 698
Complementary Athleisure
Community 186 15 (65) 136
Complementary 7 4 (22) (11)
Complementary Athleisure Total 193 19 (87) 125
Sporting Goods & Outdoor
Outdoor 6 3 (3) 6
Sporting Goods 73 9 (8) 74
Sporting Goods & Outdoor Total 79 12 (11) 80
TOTAL GROUP 937 112 (146) 903
Sales Growth Reconciliation
The table below shows a reconciliation of Organic Sales Growth for each
reporting and operating segment for the unaudited 52-week period ended
1 February 2025 and reconciled to the 52-week period ended 31 January 2026.
The analysis is split over two tables.
Revenue Impact of FY25 Revenue Impact of 2025 Revenue Acquisitions Organic sales Revenue 2026
2025 retranslating at at FY26 rates M&A activity rebased 2026 growth
2026 rates 2025 2026
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
JD UK 2,662 - 2,662 (11) 2,652 - (45) 2,607
JD Europe 2,199 45 2,244 - 2,244 - 164 2,408
JD North America 2,436 (99) 2,337 - 2,337 - 67 2,403
JD Asia Pacific 501 (15) 486 - 486 - 41 527
Total JD 7,798 (69) 7,729 (11) 7,719 - 226 7,945
Community 1,806 (77) 1,729 - 1,729 583 65 2,376
Complementary 359 10 369 (7) 362 522 (52) 832
Complementary Athleisure 2,165 (67) 2,098 (7) 2,091 1,105 13 3,208
Sporting Goods 952 18 970 (1) 969 - 37 1,006
Outdoor 543 - 543 (6) 537 - (35) 503
Sporting Goods & Outdoor 1,495 18 1,513 (7) 1,506 - 2 1,509
TOTAL GROUP 11,458 (118) 11,340 (24) 11,316 1,105 242 12,662
LFL Non LFL LFL Non-LFL Organic sales
2026 2026 2026 growth
£m £m £m % % %
JD UK 2,607 (92) 47 (3.5)% 1.8% (1.7)%
JD Europe 2,408 (58) 222 (2.6)% 9.9% 7.3%
JD North America 2,403 (67) 134 (2.9)% 5.7% 2.9%
JD Asia Pacific 527 2 40 0.4% 8.1% 8.5%
Total JD 7,945 (215) 442 (2.8)% 5.7% 2.9%
Community 2,376 (5) 70 (0.3)% 4.0% 3.7%
Complementary 832 (17) (35) (4.6)% (9.7)% (14.3)%
Complementary Athleisure 3,208 (22) 35 (1.0)% 1.7% 0.6%
Sporting Goods 1,006 32 5 3.3% 0.5% 3.8%
Outdoor 503 (31) (3) (5.8)% (0.6)% (6.4)%
Sporting Goods & Outdoor 1,509 1 2 0.0% 0.1% 0.2%
TOTAL GROUP 12,662 (237) 478 (2.1%) 4.2% 2.1%
Sales Growth
One of the key measures of performance is the growth in sales between
reporting periods excluding the impact of currency.
The figures below are extracted from the Organic Sales Growth table.
Sales Growth
£m
Revenue 52 weeks 2025 11,458
Impact of retranslating at 2026 currency rate (118)
11,340
Revenue 52 weeks 2026 12,662
Sales Growth 11.7%
The table below shows the reconciliation between cost of sales before
adjusting items, and cost of sales.
Restated((1))
52 weeks 52 weeks
2026 2025
£m £m
Cost of sales before adjusting items (6,711) (6,077)
Adjusting items within Cost of sales - (9)
Cost of sales (6,711) (6,086)
(1) Please refer to Note 12 for further details of the restatements.
The table below shows the reconciliation between operating costs before
adjusting items and operating costs
Restated((1))
52 weeks 52 weeks
2026 2025
£m £m
Selling and distribution expenses (4,388) (3,842)
Administrative expenses before adjusting items (560) (520)
Share of profit of equity-accounted investees - 5
Other operating income 32 25
Operating costs before adjusting items (4,916) (4,332)
Adjusting items within administrative expenses (248) (137)
Operating costs (5,164) (4,469)
(1) Please refer to Note 12 for further details of the restatements.
Gross Margin Excluding the Impact of Acquisitions
Gross margin excluding the impact of acquisitions is an alternative
performance measure used by management to assess the underlying profitability
of the Group's operations by removing the effect of acquisitions completed
during the reporting period. This measure facilitates comparison with prior
periods and better reflects organic performance.
Operating Margin Before Adjusting Items After Interest on Lease Liabilities
In FY25 we updated our APM metric on operating profit to include interest on
lease liabilities so that both the depreciation and interest costs of our
leases under IFRS 16 are included in this APM. This gives a more accurate view
of our operating performance (in line with how operating profit would have
traditionally been reported and understood with the full cost of servicing a
property portfolio included in operating performance).
Operating Profit Before Adjusting Items after Interest on Lease Liabilities
A reconciliation is presented above between operating profit and operating
profit before adjusting items after interest on lease liabilities by segment
and sub‑segment.
International Sales as a % of Total Sales
One of the key performance indicators for revenue generated from customers
outside the Group's home market in the UK, as a proportion of total Group
revenue for the period. Sales are allocated to international markets based on
the location of the business the product has been despatched from. A growing
proportion of international sales aligns with a global strategy of growth in
key markets of NAM and Europe, as well as development of APAC including
leveraging franchises in this region. This APM is new in FY26 to align with
the updated KPI.
Online Sales Penetration %
A KPI to measure progress in delivering our integrated omni-channel model is
Online sales penetration, being revenue that originated through the Group's
online channels, expressed as a percentage of total Group revenue for the
period. Online sales include transactions completed via the Group's websites,
mobile applications and other digital platforms, including 'ship-from-store'
and 'click & collect' sales.
Organic Sales Growth
Organic Sales Growth is a key measure of performance and represents the change
in sales between reporting periods excluding the impact of foreign exchange
movements, acquisitions and disposals.
Organic Sales Growth is calculated at constant currency, using the average
exchange rates of the current period applied to both current and prior period
sales. Sales from businesses disposed of in the prior period or the current
period, and sales from businesses classified as held-for-sale at the end of
the current period are removed from prior period sales to provide a suitable
base for comparison. Organic Sales Growth for the current period then excludes
sales from acquisitions during the first 12 months following acquisition, and
sales from businesses disposed of during the current period or classified as
held-for-sale at the end of the current period.
This isolates Organic Sales Growth to the percentage change in the
year-on-year sales growth from existing stores. Organic Sales Growth is split
into Like-For-Like ('LFL') sales from existing stores compared year on year,
and sales from net new space and store conversions which are not LFL period on
period ('non-LFL').
Like-For-Like Sales Growth
Like-For-Like sales growth represents the year-on-year change in sales from
stores that have traded for the full duration of both the current and prior
reporting periods, excluding the impact of store openings, closures,
relocations, and conversions. LFL sales therefore reflect underlying sales
performance from the same store estate on a consistent basis.
Sales Growth from Net New Space
Non-LFL sales growth represents sales generated from new store openings, store
conversions, including moving stores between
reporting segments, and other changes to the store estate that do not qualify
as Like-For-Like between reporting periods. Non-LFL sales capture the sales
impact of net new space and changes to the Group's store footprint in total
and per segment.
Foreign Exchange Rates
Period Closing rates Average rates
52 weeks to 52 weeks to 52 weeks to 52 weeks to
31 January 2026 1 February 2025 31 January 2026 1 February 2025
USD 1.37 1.24 1.33 1.28
EUR 1.15 1.20 1.16 1.18
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
. END FR EAESKEDNKEAA
Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reservedRecent news on JD Sports Fashion
See all newsREG - JD Sports Fashion - FULL YEAR RESULTS 2025/26 (FY26)
AnnouncementREG - JD Sports Fashion - Transaction in Own Shares
AnnouncementREG - JD Sports Fashion - Transaction in Own Shares
AnnouncementREG - JD Sports Fashion - Transaction in Own Shares
AnnouncementREG - JD Sports Fashion - Total Voting Rights
Announcement