Frasers Group has seen profits nearly double for the year ending April 30, as adjusted pre-tax profit came in at £478.1m, up from £339.8m last year, hitting the higher end of its forecast range which was between £450-500m.
The FTSE 100-listed firm founded by Mike Ashley said it expects profit to grow by at least 5% in the current financial year, with adjusted pretax profit in the range of £500m to £550m, representing “strong underlying trading profit progression”.
Revenue rose by almost 16% to £5.57bn for the 12-month period which Frasers said was was driven by acquisitions made throughout the year, such as Missguided last June and Gieves & Hawkes in November and the impact of a 53-week reporting year.
Without these factors, sales would have only increased by 1.3%, the business said.
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Frasers put the record performance down to 2023 being a “particularly significant year for sports retail” driven by the group’s elevation strategy.
Chief executive Michael Murray said: “In my first full year as chief executive, we have delivered a strong performance across the group. We were bold in setting our full year guidance twelve months ago, before the full impact of the cost-of-living crisis was clear, but our business has remained resilient, and we have met these expectations.
“We enter the new financial year in a strong position and are determined to unlock further growth, underpinned by our laser focus and acceleration of our elevation strategy.”
The group, which owns Sports Direct, Flannels, Jack Wills and more as been on an acquisition spree over the course of the year, recently snapping up shares in electrical retailers Currys and AO World and fashion giant Boohoo, adding to its portfolio of stakes in Boohoo rival ASOS, German fashion house Hugo Boss, clothing retailer N Brown and Mulberry.
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