Sports Direct share price down despite 15.6pc rise in profits, with no shareholder dividend
Sports Direct has seen its share price drop two per cent following initial gains.
The sportswear retailer reported its end-of-year results today, showing £239.5m in profit before tax, a 15.6 per cent rise on the 2013 figure.
Revenue came in at £2.7bn, a rise of 23.8 per cent and underlying EBITDA was up 15 per cent to £331.1m. Despite the rises, Sports Direct confirmed that it would not be paying a dividend to shareholders.
The results are expected to come under close scrutiny after Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley turned his back on a £200m bonus scheme. The report also indicated that strong sales figures had been offset by England's poor performance at the World Cup.
Dave Forsey, chief executive, said:
"We have delivered another record year of out-performance especially within our Sports Retail division. This success is underpinned by our core strategy, offering our customers a wide range of products which represent exceptional quality and unbeatable value.
"Overall trading since the year end has been in line with management's expectations with some stronger weeks offset by England's disappointing World Cup matches. Consistent with previous guidance, we continue to target underlying EBITDA (before share scheme costs) of £360m for the current period."