Broker snap: Cautious 2012 at JD Sports

13th Apr 2011 14:07

Singer Capital Markets said that sports retailer JD Sports Fashion reported a good set of full year results Wednesday, but downgrades are likely for 2012.Pre-tax profit for the year to 29 January rose 21% to £81.6m, ahead of the broker's forecast of £79m.However, "despite this solid performance, the start to the new financial year has been challenging with weak demand and pressure on margins," the broker said."These pressures are likely to persist in the near term and we expect consensus estimates to fall back by circa 10-12% today as a result."Nevertheless, the target price of 940p and 'fair value' rating are kept.---bc