JD Sports to delay full-year results
Sports fashion retailer JD Sports has revealed plans to delay its full-year results to 7 July 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact the UK.
In March the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) announced a temporary relief for listed companies that are due to report financial results during the current coronavirus crisis.
This temporary relief extends the period in which listed businesses are required to publish their audited financial statements, from four months to six months.
JD Sports’ board believes that it is in the “best interests” of investors and other stakeholders for the group to announce its results at a later date, so as to provide the “greatest amount of clarity” on the impact of Covid-19 on the group’s performance for the current financial year to 30 January 2021.
The board and senior management team of the group have also agreed to voluntary salary reductions of at least 25% for the current period of disruption, with Peter Cowgill, executive chairman, personally volunteering a salary reduction of 75%.
It comes after JD Sports withheld its quarterly rent payment at the start of April to help mitigate the effects of the UK lockdown. According to The Guardian, JD Sports did not pay the rent due for its 390 stores, and was reportedly in discussions for the next bill due in June.
