Sports Direct has reported a 58.7 per cent slump in underlying profits and announced the appointment of a permanent finance chief for the first time in four years.
The Mike Ashley-run retailer recorded a dive in underlying profits from £275.2m to £113.7m in the year ending April 30. It blamed the fall for not having sufficient currency hedges in place to deal with the sharp drop in the pound last year following the Brexit referendum result, reports The Telegraph.
The sportswear giant said that it had hired Jon Kempster, whose last chief finance role in 2012 was at £300m logistics firm Wincanton.
Sports Direct has reported a 58.7 per cent slump in underlying profits and announced the appointment of a permanent finance chief for the first time in four years.
The Mike Ashley-run retailer recorded a dive in underlying profits from £275.2m to £113.7m in the year ending April 30. It blamed the fall for not having sufficient currency hedges in place to deal with the sharp drop in the pound last year following the Brexit referendum result.
The sportswear giant said that it had hired Jon Kempster, whose last chief finance role in 2012 was at £300m logistics firm Wincanton.
Mr Ashley, who took over as chief executive last year, said that he was still committed to turning Sports Direct into the “Selfridges of Sport” and announced a new partnership with running brand Asics.
The sportswear billionaire said: “Sports Direct is on course to become the ‘Selfridges’ of sport by migrating to a new generation of stores to showcase the very best products from our third-party brand partners.”
“We have invested over £300m in property over the last year, and I am pleased to report that early indications show that trading in our new flagship stores is exceeding expectations.”
Mr Ashley attracted further headlines this month following admissions of his “power drinking” sessions in a court case over a £15m pub bet with former investment banker Jeff Blue.
