Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - JD Sports Fashion on Tuesday reported a rise in annual earnings, but the sportswear retailer cut its dividend and warned the coronavirus outbreak has constrained its short term progress.
For the 52 weeks ended February 1, the company's revenue increased 30% to GBP6.11 billion from GBP4.72 billion the year before. Pretax profit edged higher to GBP348.5 million from GBP339.9 million.
For financial 2020, JD Sports said like-for-like sales were up 12% on an annual basis, with the core UK & Ireland sales up 10%.
However, JD Sports cut its total dividend to 0.28 pence from 1.71p the year before. In April, JD had said it does not intend to pay a final dividend due to the pandemic.
JD Sports warned Covid-19 continues to affect its commercial operations and will have a material impact on the results for financial 2021. It noted stores began to re-open in some countries from the end of April with the majority of the group's stores now trading again. Initial footfall has been weaker in malls and shopping centres, particularly in Northern Europe at weekends, as consumers remain nervous about the risks associated with densely occupied enclosed spaces, the company added.
"We were encouraged by the continued positive trading in the early weeks of the year prior to the emergence of Covid-19 and we firmly believe that we are well placed to regain our previous momentum. Looking longer term, there is inevitably considerable uncertainty as to what the effect of Covid-19 will be on consumer behaviour and footfall with future store investments highly dependent on rental realism and lease flexibility. Ultimately, however, we remain confident that we have a market leading multi-channel proposition which has the necessary flexibility and agility to prosper within a retail environment that may see profound and permanent structural change," said Chair Peter Cowgill.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: called down 0.5% at 6253.80
----------
Hang Seng: down 0.6% at 26,173.85
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.4% at 22,614.69
DJIA: closed up 459.67 points, 1.8%, at 26,287.03
S&P 500: closed up 1.6% at 3,179.72
----------
GBP: flat at USD1.2496 (USD1.2492)
EUR: down at USD1.1305 (USD1.1312)
Gold: flat at USD1,784.42 per ounce (USD1,784.81)
Oil (Brent): down at USD42.62 a barrel (USD43.43)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
0830 BST UK Halifax house price index
0800 SAT South Africa Gold & foreign exchange reserves
1000 CEST Italy Retail sales
1000 EDT Canada Ivey purchasing managers index
1000 EDT US Job openings & labor turnover survey
1000 EDT US IBD/TIPP economic optimism index
1630 EDT US API weekly statistical bulletin
----------
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is being urged to unveil a cash injection worth GBP200 billion in order to help the economy recover after the coronavirus storm. Sunak is due to make a statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday to unveil his plan to create jobs, upgrade buildings and protect the environment as part of efforts to rebuild the economy after Covid-19. The Resolution Foundation think tank is urging the Cabinet minister to further loosen the purse strings, having already announced a string of bailouts and wage subsidy and emergency loan schemes since the outbreak started, and announce a fiscal package worth 10% of GDP.
----------
The EU's Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will travel to London on Tuesday for talks with his UK counterpart David Frost. Last week, discussions between the two sides on a post-Brexit trade deal broke up early with "significant differences" remaining. But Barnier and Frost will meet face-to-face in London on Tuesday, before talks with the rest of their teams on Wednesday. The UK's Chief Negotiator Frost said last week that though the ability to meet in person had given "extra depth and flexibility" to the discussions, there was more to do. Barnier said that while Brussels had engaged "constructively", officials needed to see an "equivalent engagement from the UK side".
----------
More than five million residents of Melbourne will be locked down for six weeks after coronavirus cases surged in Australia's second-biggest city, authorities announced Tuesday. State Premier Daniel Andrews said the lockdown would begin at midnight Wednesday and last at least six weeks, as he warned residents "we can't pretend" the coronavirus crisis is over. After the south-eastern city detected 191 new cases in 24 hours, Andrews said there were now too many incidents of the virus to trace and track.
----------
The US is still "knee-deep" in its first wave of coronavirus infections and must act immediately to tackle the recent surge, the country's top infectious diseases expert said. Anthony Fauci said the number of cases had never reached a satisfactory baseline before the current resurgence, which officials have warned risks overwhelming hospitals in the country's south and west. "It's a serious situation that we have to address immediately," Fauci said in a web interview with National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins. But Fauci added he did not strictly consider the ongoing rise in cases a "wave." The death toll from the virus in the US hit 130,000 Monday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, and the number of infections is nearing three million.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
SOCGEN CUTS WHITBREAD TO 'SELL' ('HOLD') - TARGET 2260 (4500) PENCE
PEEL HUNT RAISES UNITE GROUP TO 'ADD' ('HOLD') - TARGET 1000 (900) PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
Whitbread said it is well placed to capitalise on enhanced structural opportunities with its Premier Inn hotel and restaurant reopening now fully underway. The hospitality firm said over 270 UK hotels and 24 restaurants now reopened with the majority of the rest of the estate due to reopen throughout July. In addition, all 19 operational hotels now open in Germany, including 13 new hotels that were refurbished and rebranded as Premier Inn during lockdown. For the first quarter ended May 28, group like-for-like sales fell 80% and total sales were down 79%. Whitbread said the first-quarter performance reflects the impact of the closure of its hotel and restaurant operations, in both the UK and Germany, at the end of March. "It is still very early days and therefore too early to draw any conclusions from our booking trajectory, especially as there has been volatility in hotel performance in other countries that relaxed controls before the UK. However, in traditional regional tourist destinations, we are seeing good demand for the summer months, whilst the rest of the regions and metropolitan areas, including London, remain subdued," Chief Executive Alison Brittain said.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Plus500 said it expects revenue of about USD564.2 million for the six months to June 30, up from USD148.0 million the year before. It gained 198,176 new customers in the first half, up from 47,540 the year before. "The company's financial position remains robust, driven by the strong earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin achieved during the period and continued high cash generation, as well as the minimal capital expenditure requirements and the low capital intensity of the business. Despite a background of on-going uncertainty regarding the duration of current levels of volatility, and the unquantified potential impact from regulatory changes in Australia, the board remains very confident about the outlook for the company," Plus500 said.
----------
COMPANIES - GLOBAL
----------
Novartis said its uncontrolled asthma treatment has been given regulatory approval in the EU. Enerzair Breezhaler has been approved by the European Commission, the Swiss pharma giant said, with an "optional digital companion" with sensor and app that provide inhalation confirmation, medication reminders and access to objective data. Once-daily Enerzair Breezhaler is the first LABA/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA)/ICS fixed-dose combination available in the EU for patients not "adequately controlled" with a maintenance combination of a long-acting beta2-agonist and a high-dose of an inhaled corticosteroid, Novartis said. The Commission's approval is based on robust efficacy and safety data from over 3,000 asthma patients in the Phase III IRIDIUM study, in which once-daily Enerzair Breezhaler was "superior", Novartis said, to once-daily Atectura Breezhale. The decision is applicable to all 27 EU member states as well as the UK, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Enerzair Breezhaler has already been approved in Japan and Canada.
----------
Tuesday's Shareholder Meetings
Thor Mining
Whitbread
Assura
----------
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
