Sports Direct, the sportswear retailer headed by controversial billionaire and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said trading improved last month but warned that market conditions "remain difficult".
Its shares, which have halved since the group floated in February, rose 1.25p to 137.25p today on relief that there was no new profit warning. The group has warned on profits twice in the past five months.
But analysts were irritated by the lack of information in today's trading update. Nick Bubb at Pali International said: "Nothing is ever easy with Sports Direct and, infuriatingly, there is no detail on performance."
In a statement ahead of its annual meeting this afternoon, the group, which owns Lillywhites and the Sports World chain, said total sales for the 13 weeks to July 29 were £335m and gross profits £149m. No comparisons were given and there was no information on margins.
The statement "looked almost deliberately designed to antagonise its audience," said Philip Dorgan at Panmure Gordon, who calculates that the lack of detail could mask an underlying sales slump of as much as 20%.
He is also concerned about the company's debt position, which he believes could have moved from £38m cash at the year end to debt of £300m by the end of October.
Chief executive Dave Forsey repeated the group's earlier warning that the poor weather has had a "material impact" on performance, although there has been some improvement since the end of July. The group remains committed to improving margins, driving efficiencies and growth through acquisitions and new space, he added.
The group is sticking to its previous forecast of "limited growth" in profits for the full year.
It later emerged that Sports Direct now holds a 3.87% stake in rival sportswear group Umbro, whose shares slumped 13% last week as it warned that sales of replica shirts had tumbled.
Umbro said sales of England kit had been much worse than expected this year, after last year's World Cup fuelled record sales. This has left retailers with large stocks, which are expected to cut Umbro's sales by 20% and wipe nearly 30% off its profits next year.
