// Frasers Group posts 53% rise in half-year profits to £284.6m
// The Sports Direct owner has acquired many retailers including Studio Retail, ISawItFirst and Missguided
Frasers Group half-year profits rocketed 53% to £284.6 million as its new acquisitions including Missguided and Studio helped boost sales.
The Mike Ashley-controlled retailer, which owns Sports Direct, Jack Wills, Game and Evans Cycles, said the rise in profits was largely due to the new businesses it had brought into the group.
Sales across the group increased by 12.7% after the retailer reported “strategic and trading momentum” in the 26 weeks to 23 October 2022.
Since the turn of the year it has acquired many retailers including Studio Retail, ISawItFirst and Missguided.
Frasers said UK sports retail revenue increased by 11.6% thanks to the acquisition of Studio Retail on 24 February 2022. Excluding acquisitions, revenue decreased by 3.1% after a sales fall at Game.
The acquisitions of Missguided and I Saw it First during the period has helped expand the group’s digital offering.
Frasers is also close to taking control of Australian online retailer MySale, in which it now owns 66% of shares.
In October, Frasers took a 4.5% stake in N Brown Group, which owns brands including Simply Be, JD Williams and Jacamo, and also snapped up a 5% stake in Asos, becoming its fourth-biggest shareholder.
Frasers has been pushing an “elevation strategy” under new chief executive Michael Murray, the son-in-law of founder Mike Ashley.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
Meanwhile, premium lifestyle revenue increased by 24.7% thanks to the growth of Flannels and its expansion online. Excluding acquisitions, revenue increased by 22.2%.
Frasers Group chairman David Daly said: “We have delivered a strong performance during the period, despite the challenging backdrop of heightened economic uncertainty in the UK, soaring energy costs, rapidly rising inflation, a widespread cost of living crisis and continued geopolitical instability.
“Whilst post pandemic issues with the global supply chain remain, there are signs that these are beginning to ease.
“We once again remind our stakeholders of our key accounting principles, namely being conservative, consistent, and simple, and this will always factor into our forecasting, including provisioning and impairment reviews.
“Despite the above potential headwinds and in this context, Frasers has delivered a robust set of first half results which demonstrate the resilience of our business and the continued success of our Elevation Strategy.”
