JD Sports Fashion launches share buyback programme

JD Sports Fashion has today launched a £100 million share buyback programme, which will see the purchase of "ordinary shares" of £0.0005 each in the company.

The company has entered an "irrevocable agreement" with Merrill Lynch International (BofA Securities) to undertake the programme on its behalf.

The programme will commence immediately and is expected to complete by no later than 31 July 2025.

Shares acquired by BofA Securities under the agreement will be sold on to the company and will either be cancelled or held in treasury. The purpose of the programme is to reduce the share capital of the company.

The maximum number of shares that may be acquired under the programme, as authorised by shareholders at the company's 2024 annual general meeting on 4 July 2024, is 518,313,575.

Yesterday, JD Sports released its trading update for the fourth quarter of FY25 and initial guidance for FY26, bracing for impact as US President Donald Trump's tariffs were due to come into effect.

However, since yesterday Trump has announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for "most countries" being hit by higher tariffs, despite the escalating trade war with China which has seen him raise tariffs 125%.

For the 13 weeks ending 1 February 2025, JD Sports reported revenue growth of 5.8%, in line with previous guidance, ranging between £915 million and £935 million.

Despite a challenging market, JD put that achievement down to strong performances in Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific.
Full year like-for-like revenue growth was 0.3%, with organic growth of 5.8%, driven by the company’s international expansion and acquisitions of US retailer Hibbett and French retailer Courir.