Retail giant Frasers Group has issued a profit warning in its half year results, following the recent Budget.
The Shirebrook-based business noted that while its first half marked another period of progress “both ahead of and after the recent Budget, consumer confidence has weakened and recent trading conditions have been tougher.”
Frasers Group added: “Given this current uncertainty, FY25 APBT is now expected to be in the range £550m to £600m. Further out, we expect to incur at least £50m of incremental costs going into FY26 as a result of the recent Budget, but we are working hard to mitigate these in order to maintain our profitable growth ambitions.”
In unaudited results for the 26 weeks ended 27 October 2024 (FY25 H1), the firm saw group revenue of £2.54bn, dipping from £2.77bn in the same period of last year.
An adjusted profit before tax of £299.2m, meanwhile, was down on £303.8m last year.
Michael Murray, Chief Executive of Frasers Group, said: “The first half of this year has been another period of progress for the Group, delivering on our objectives as the Elevation Strategy continues to take the business to the next level.
“Sports Direct UK delivered further sales growth, and our Property and Financial Services divisions are seeing encouraging progress.
“We continue to operate with discipline to ensure our business is as resilient as possible – proactively right-sizing recent acquisitions to set them up for profitable long-term growth and driving further automation benefits to exceed our stock reduction targets for the period.
“We have also made significant strides in international expansion, developing new partnerships across Australia and Africa, and unlocking opportunities as we move further towards our goal of becoming a leading global sports retailer.
“We are set to deliver another year of profitable growth but, given recent weaker consumer confidence leading up to and following the Budget, FY25 APBT is now expected to be in the range of £550m to £600m.”
