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JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD., OTC:JDSPY) is set to report full-year results on Thursday, with investors focused on signs of demand recovery and guidance for the year ahead.
The sportswear retailer is expected to post pre-tax profit of around £850 million for the year to January, broadly in line with earlier guidance and market expectations.
Attention will centre on its outlook after the company flagged a period of “muted market growth”.
Analysts expect like-for-like sales to remain under pressure, with consensus pointing to a slight decline in the year ahead.
Deutsche Bank forecasts a 1.2% fall in like-for-like sales for the first quarter, with weakness in the UK and Europe partly offset by stronger trading in the US.
The performance of US operations, including 2024 acquistion Hibbett, will be closely watched, alongside the impact of pricing changes and consumer demand trends.
Shore Capital said recent results from Adidas point to improving demand in sportswear, though the benefit to JD may be limited given stronger growth for the German brand in direct-to-consumer channels.
While the broader sector could see a boost from the upcoming FIFA World Cup, analysts remain cautious on the near-term outlook, highlighting ongoing pressure on consumers and uneven demand across regions.
"JD’s valuation continues to be undemanding," Shore Cap said, with the shares trading for 6.2 times forecast earnings.
"With the World Cup starting in short order, we may yet see a tailwind for the sector, particularly if England can perform well, though that may be too uncertain an outlook to pin an investment thesis on."
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