BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
JJB Sports saw a drop in its revenue and profits in its interim results for the 26 weeks running to July 26th 2009.
The unaudited results saw revenue fall to £167.3m compared to £212.6m (a drop of 21.3 per cent) in the 26 weeks to July 27th 2008.
Operating profit fell 2220 per cent from £2m in the first half of 2008 to a loss of £41.9 million.
Stock shortages and cuts to the number of stores were among the reasons cited for the poor performance.
"The progress we have made since the start of 2009 in restructuring and refinancing this Company is a result of the hard work and efforts of everyone throughout the business,” JJB Sports executive chairman Sir David Jones.
“I would like to extend the Board’s continuing gratitude to our colleagues for their diligence. However, what we have achieved to date and the volume of work which remains to be done is a reminder of the state of financial health in which the Company found itself at the start of the year.
"Today’s announcement shows a marked decline in ongoing retail operations compared to the same period last year largely because of stock shortages in our stores during the period."
Sir David added: "We are confident that the actions we have taken during the period to restructure the business will allow us to move forward and rebuild our stock inventory by the first quarter of 2010. Although the retail environment remains challenging, we are encouraged by the early signs of improvement in like-for-like sales trends and gross margins in recent weeks.”
JJB also referred to new financing arrangements agreed in June this year with the Bank of Scotland for a facility of £25 million, and a further £10 million – agreed on September 23rd – with a relaxation of financial commitments.
