Frasers Group full year boosted by sports retail

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group reported a surge in full-year profits and revenue on Thursday as it hailed a strong performance across the group, boosted by profitable growth in the sports retail segment.

In the 53 weeks to 30 April, reported pre-tax profit rose 96.9% to £660.7m, with revenue up 15.8% to £5.6bn.

Revenue in UK sports retail increased 16.7% to £3.1bn, while the premium lifestyle segment saw growth of 14.8% to £1.2bn. Revenue in international retail and wholesale & licensing was up 15.2% and 12% respectively to £1.1bn and £188.3m.

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.

"The Elevation Strategy is continuing to drive results across every segment, and I want to thank the entire company for all their hard work in delivering our vision for Frasers Group. It has been a particularly significant year for Sports Retail, demonstrating that elevating Sports Direct was the right strategy. Our investment in the store estate, our focus on strengthening key brand partnerships, and the synergies created by strategic acquisitions is now delivering very clear results. We've also made huge progress in the year building our sector-leading ecosystem, with Frasers Plus now successfully launched across our brands and businesses."