Frasers Group, a leading UK-based retail conglomerate, has reported a revenue of £5.537 billion (approximately $7.19 billion) in fiscal 2024 (FY24), a slight decline of 0.9 per cent compared to the previous year. Retail revenue also fell by 1.3 per cent to £5,354 million. Notably, the group's gross margin percentage increased to 43.3 per cent from 42.9 per cent.

Despite the drop in revenue, the group saw a 13.1 per cent increase in adjusted profit before tax (APBT), which rose to £544.8 million. Retail profit from trading also experienced a minor decline of 0.9 per cent, amounting to £738.9 million. However, the group reported a 20.5 per cent decrease in profit before tax (PBT), which was £507 million, the company said in a press release.

The group's basic earnings per share (EPS) were 86.8p, reflecting a decrease of 20.1p compared to the previous year. In contrast, the adjusted EPS saw a significant increase of 24.1p (33.6 per cent), reaching 95.8p.

The UK sports division, which accounts for 51.7 per cent of the total group revenue, saw a revenue decrease of 3.3 per cent. Despite this, Sports Direct largely mitigated the planned declines in Game UK and Studio Retail. The gross profit for this segment increased by £28.9 million, with the gross margin improving by 250 basis points to 45.5 per cent.

The premium lifestyle segment, contributing 21.7 per cent to the total group revenue, experienced a revenue decrease of 1.2 per cent. However, the segment's profit from trading remained stable at £137.2 million.

International retail, representing 23.3 per cent of the total group revenue, showed a positive trend with a 3.3 per cent increase in revenue. The segment's profit from trading decreased by £23.3 million, a 14.9 per cent drop year-on-year.

"This has been a break-out year for building Frasers' future growth. As well as delivering a strong trading performance, particularly from Sports Direct, we made significant progress with our Elevation Strategy. We expanded our retail ecosystem, establishing valuable partnerships with new brands. Our brand relationships have never been stronger, giving us invaluable support as we continue the international expansion of our business. We invested in group-wide operational efficiencies in warehouse automation and digital infrastructure, which we expect to yield a tangible impact as early as FY25,” said Michael Murray, chief executive of Frasers Group.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)