Sportswear retailer JD Sports has said it is weighing up a number of options to preserve capital across all aspects of its business after its shops were closed this morning (24 March), following a UK government directive.
The group’s website continues to function and accept and fulfill performance. But the retailer said, while it has seen a resilient performance to date in most territories, this represents comparatively small mitigation in terms of overall profit contribution.
Yesterday, the UK government ordered all retail stores, including clothing, to close in a bid to control the spread of the virus. JD Sports has also closed its locations across Europe and the US.
The group said it is not appropriate currently to provide financial guidance for the year ending 30 January 2021 given the “current uncertainty and the potential for further government action where our fascias are still able to trade”.
It is also delaying the publication of its results for the period to 1 February. At this stage, it anticipates the revised date will be in the second half of May. This revised date would also allow the group to provide greater clarity of the impact of Covid-19 on the group’s performance for the current year to 30 January 2021.
Executive chairman Peter Cowgill said: “Along with everyone else, the group is experiencing major disruption to our business operations as we seek to protect our colleagues and customers from the effects of Covid-19. Their safety remains our number one priority and we continue to take all appropriate action in line with government advice in our various territories. JD continues to offer a market-leading, multichannel proposition in sports fashion retail and we are confident that we will emerge from the current challenges in a strong position to resume our previous positive momentum.”
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