Welcome to today's JD Sports Fashion Full Year Results Analyst Presentation. My name is Jordan, and I'll be coordinating your call today. If you'd like to register a question, you may do so by pressing star followed by one on your telephone keypad. I'm now gonna hand over to Helen Ashton to begin. Helen, please go ahead.
Thanks very much, Jordan. Thank you everyone for joining the webinar today for the JD Sports Fashion Plc Full Year Financial Results for the Year to the 29th of January 2022. We did hope to be with you in person. However, with the train challenges, we've chosen to move to a webinar. My name is Helen Ashton, and I'm the interim Chair of JD. I joined the board in November of last year as an NED and the Chair of Audit and Risk. I'm joined here today by Kath Smith, our interim CEO, Neil Greenhalgh, our Finance Director, Wayne Davies, co-CEO of our North American business, and Mike Armstrong, who leads our brand relationships.
In terms of the running order for today, I will provide a brief update on governance and recruitment before handing over to Neil, who will walk you through the numbers. Kath will then talk a little bit more about what makes JD so special, and Wayne will speak in more detail about North America, while Mike will share a little more color around our brand partnership strategy. I'll then share a few closing remarks and outlook, and then of course, we'll be happy to answer any questions that you have. Before we begin, I'd love to share a brand video, which I hope gives you a little bit more insight into the JD business of today. Thanks very much, Jordan. Firstly, I'd like to reflect on the strong operating and financial performance for the year to the 29th of January 2022.
There are a number of factors that have driven this record performance, and it's a huge credit to our former chair, Peter Cowgill, and the extremely talented team at JD that we've delivered this record profit performance. We're in a super strong position and have cash on our balance sheet to support our ongoing development opportunities. As you know, we've been undertaking a review of regulatory compliance issues, the group's corporate governance operating model, and an assessment of current compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code. These reviews have now been completed, and the board is fully committed to making the necessary changes highlighted through these reviews.
On the two executive searches, the process to recruit a CEO is ongoing with a number of high caliber candidates at different stages of consideration, including some who have only recently made their interest in the role known since we announced the succession process. This is a really important process for us to find the right candidate with the necessary skills to lead the business over the next stage of its development, and we will take the necessary time to make sure we have the best person possible for the role. Likewise, the search for the non-exec chair is also progressing at pace, and we've been really pleased with the caliber of the candidates for this role. We look forward to updating on both searches at the appropriate time.
Finally, I would really like to draw attention to the important progress that we've made on our ESG initiatives during the year. We include detail on, and the role of our ESG committee within our results statement. We are absolutely committed to making a positive social and environmental contribution, and we'll keep you updated on our progress. Finally, I can also confirm that we've repaid in full the support our UK businesses received during the financial year from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which totals GBP 24.4 million. Now I'd like to hand over to Neil, who will take us through the financials.
Thanks, Helen. We've already signposted many of the messages that come through the numbers. I'm not going to dwell too long on numbers that are relatively historic. Could I have my first slide, please? The first slide is a summary of the results. Revenue in the year increased by nearly 40%, with profit increasing by more than 100%. There are the usual segmental breakdowns later, but just on a headline perspective, the Sports Fashion profit is obviously the standout performer, as ever. It's the biggest part of our business, and is now making more than GBP 9 million profit.
Outdoor returned to profitability in the year, which is really pleasing after a couple of difficult years. Next slide, please. In terms of the five-year summary, this slide illustrates very clearly the progress that we continue to make in the U.K. and Ireland in particular. This may be our most mature market, but we still see significant opportunities. It also illustrates the significant progress that we've made in North America since we first entered that market in 2018. Next slide, please. As ever, the sports fashion summary is one of the key slides that we show. I'll just spend some time taking you through this.
We've split it into our operating segments, which are premium sports fashion, which is JD, and then in North America, it includes DTLR, Shoe Palace, and Livestock. We have our other fascias. In the UK, that's the fashion fascias such as Tessuti, but it also includes our sporting goods fascias such as Sprinter and Sport Zone in Europe. The North America other fascias is the Macy's concessions. We've added some additional detail onto this slide, just to show you what the profit of each operating segment is without the JD IP recharge. Just to explain what that is, that's a charge that's driven for tax requirements that gets levied on those international businesses, which trade under the JD name.
We have to make a notional charge for that. As we continue to grow internationally, then that charge is increasing in scale. I thought it was helpful just to split that out because then the profit pre the JD IP recharge is then effectively constant, or is consistent really between the different operating segments. The key messages I'd call out from this slide are, you know, if you exclude the impact of the IP recharge, then the operating margin in our premium UK and Ireland businesses is back above 16%, which you'll recall is the historic kind of expectation for this business. It's where that business has historically landed.
Also the North America business, again, premium North America business, again excluding the IP charge, that operating margin is now approximately 14%. A reminder that when we first acquired Finish Line in 2018, that business was making a margin of 3%. You know, we have seen, you know, substantial growth in that market. In terms of Asia Pacific, then, the operating margin there is now more than 10%. That's largely driven by the performance of our business in Australia, you know, which continues to progress positively. Elsewhere, it was really largely a year of recovery, after the worst of COVID in the previous year. Can we move on to next slide, please?
The North America slide is one that we include in all our presentations, and I know it's another key slide that people are interested in. You know, it has been a very positive year in the U.S. in particular with strong growth, particularly in the first half when all of our businesses benefited from the fiscal stimulus. It's pleasing to see that the operating margin just in the Finish Line and JD business is well over 10% now with a GP% that's overall close to 50%.
Wayne Davies, who's our joint CEO in North America, he'll expand on the developments that we're seeing in that geography later on in the presentation. Go on to the next slide, please. In terms of outdoor, obviously we're very pleased to see that business return to profitability after two difficult years. There is still work to do though, particularly on gross margins. We have a very good foundation now from which to develop. Can we move on, please? There isn't too much to say about the balance sheet. I should mention the significant increase in goodwill and patent names. That's a reflection of the significant amount of M&A activity that we've done in the year.
I've got a slide shortly which breaks that increase down for you. I'd also just in passing, just mention two new lines this year, that assets held for sale and liabilities held for sale. These are technical accounting descriptions that we've had to include this year. They relate to Footasylum, which, as you know, we're currently in the process of divesting. You know, that process is continuing in line with the CMA directions. Next slide, please. In terms of cash flow, then, as you'd expect after a year of record profitability, then that's reflected in the very strong cash generation, with the strong free cash flow helping to fund the significant M&A activity in the year.
You'll also see we did the equity raise at the start of the year in February 2021. The proceeds of GBP 155 million are also reflected in the cash in the year. Can I have the next slide, please? I put this slide in historically and I thought it was relevant to keep it in again today, just to show the material acquisitions in the year, and it just helps you to reconcile the balance sheets and cash flow movements, you know, particularly for your various models. As I said, on the balance sheet side, you know, there has been a significant increase in the level of the intangible assets in the balance sheet.
This slide gives you the breakdown of that, but, you know, it's clear that that DTLR, the business that we acquired in the East Coast of the U.S., in spring 2021, that's been a big driver of that. Can move on to next slide, please? Stocks may have gone up overall in the year, but that's largely been driven by the impact of the acquisitions that we've done. On a like-for-like basis, which is really reflected through the cash flow line, then, you know, this illustrates, you know, that we've maintained our usual tight merchandising control over stock levels.
The lines that probably stand out within here as much as any is North America, you know, where you know the supply chain challenges, which have been well publicized, they did impact on the flow of stocks into the business through the end of the last financial year and through the first quarter of this year in particular. You know, those supply challenges, you know, particularly in footwear, are well known. As we've said before, you know, North America is more impacted by that just by nature of both its products and its brand mix. The stock levels in the U.S. are normalizing though now as we indicated that they would. Can I have the next slide, please?
Moving on to CapEx then. After a slowdown of activity in the year to January 2021, last year was back to normal really in terms of the CapEx program, particularly with regards to the investments that we're making in our retail estate. There was a particular focus last year, as you can see, in North America, which reflects the expansion of JD, both by converting existing Finish Line stores and opening new stores. There were 87 JDs at the end of January, which had increased to 96 by the end of May. We actually see the spend on CapEx accelerating this year, with significant investments in all geographic areas.
You'll also see significant spend on the warehouse projects with the Derby warehouse scheduled to commence some limited fulfillment later this year with full operational use from mid-2023. The warehouse that we're developing in Heerlen in the Netherlands that's about 12 months behind that in terms of timetable, so it'll be 2024 before that site is operational. Go on to the next slide, please. This is just very briefly to take you to show you the affected sites. The big driver of the difference between the basic tax rate and the actual effective tax rate is the nondeductible nature of the exceptional charge that we have for the movement on put options.
That will reverse in the future as and when those options get exercised. I'll now hand you over to Kath Smith, who's our Interim CEO, and she'll take some time to just reiterate the key principles which make JD a success.
Thank you, Neil. Good morning, everyone. I'm Kath Smith, and as Neil said, I've stepped in as interim CEO, having previously held the position of senior independent director on the board. My background is in building global brands with some 25 years in the sporting goods and outdoor sectors, including time with The North Face, a part of the VF Corporation, and with Adidas and Reebok. Next slide, please. As Helen touched on in her introduction, JD is a very strong business, and that is underlined by the record results that we are announcing today. More than double the previous record set in the year to January 2020. North America, the U.K., and Republic of Ireland delivering incredibly strong performances. It is very clear that Peter and the wider team have built a strong business with sustainable growth characteristics underpinned by a globally recognized brand.
Let me explain in a bit more detail what makes JD a success. Well, as a business, we believe we have an unparalleled understanding of our consumer. As a result, we are the leading business in the area of sports, fashion, lifestyle, and outdoors. In order to maintain this understanding with the consumer, we forged strong cultural connections with the universal cultures of sport, music, and fashion. We have a detailed understanding of our fashion-focused consumer and cultivate our product offer to appeal to this audience. We have a talented and resilient team at JD who are regarded as leading figures in their areas of expertise. We have a unity of purpose and have developed unique and enduring brand relationships. JD's multi-channel strategy identifies and prioritizes stores as central to the JD offer.
We continue to evolve and develop our omni-channel approach to ensure that we present a seamless shopping experience to all our consumer touch points. These are our core strengths and provide us with an excellent platform on which to build for the future. Next slide, please. This slide gives you an insight into the five pillars of our business, how we think about our audiences and how we segment our assortments to meet consumers' requirements. It's not just about understanding the nuances and tastes of the consumer, but ensuring that what they want is easily available and accessible to them in the right pillar, in the right channel, and down to the right fascia and the right door to properly enhance our engagement with them. As we expand our view globally, it's clear that our consumers in different parts of the world do not always want the same things.
We need to differentiate and curate our offering market by market to ensure that what we're supplying at a local level is the right product and at the right time. We achieve this by our scale and experience, the right tone of voice, the right messaging, the best products, and maximizing the potential for an incredibly strong retail estate, all of which is core to our DNA. By always ensuring that we are authentically local and never a tourist, we ensure that we are always relevant to our target audience and meet and exceed their needs. Next slide, please. JD is a global business with a brand covering 32 markets through a number of different fascia. Now I'm going to hand you over to Wayne Davies, our co-CEO of JD North America, our second largest market, to explain all about the U.S. Wayne.
Thank you, Kath. Next slide, please. Let me first walk you through what JD stands for in North America. We're a portfolio of brands strategically assembled to serve and inspire unique consumer groups on their terms and in their neighborhoods. JD North America has rapidly become a core part of the group's business and presents an incredible growth opportunity. I'd now like to play you a short video that shows you what we've been up to in the last year. Video, please.
Take off the fufu. Take off the cloud chase. Take off the Rafa. Take off the money form. Take off the car loan. Take off the flex and the white life. Take off the barricade streams and the microwave memes. It's a real world outside. Take off your idols. Take off the runway. Take off the title. Take off the same group. Pay five days before you keep it for the meal how you dial. Take off the section, take off the cop with the hot tab. Take off the whole load, take off the half shell, take off the solution. Take off the jacket, take off the new Logic. Got a problem with Jungle. Take off the Chanel, take off the Dolce. Take off the Birkin bag. Take all that good designer bullshit off and what do you have?
Next slide, please. Before I talk through the FY 2022 highlights, I just want to remind you that we now trade from over 930 standalone stores across the US and Canada, and this footprint is further strengthening our relationship with our core global partners. The transition of Finish Line to JD is gaining momentum with 87 stores trading at the end of the reporting period and 96 as we stand today. 45 of the new JD doors in the United States opened since the beginning of FY 2022, and there's a further 65 new and converted stores to be added this financial year. Our flagship store in Times Square has played an important role in building our brand with the US consumer and igniting interest in the JD brand overall, serving as a global retail beacon.
We're looking forward to opening our second JD flagship in Chicago later this year, with others to follow. Our individual brands continue to make good progress with Shoe Palace strengthening its position as a community-focused retailer in the western U.S. states. We completed the strategic acquisition of DTLR in March 2021, and it's positioned in the same manner in the Northeast. We also invested in enhancements of our CRM program, and I'm pleased to say that we now have almost 5 million active members of our Status loyalty program. Behind the scenes, we've worked hard to improve efficiencies, and we've been driving forward back-of-house consolidation across a range of processes, including finance, logistics, distribution, to help us realize synergies.
In terms of external factors affecting our business, it's worth remembering that in the U.S., our stores were largely unaffected by COVID restrictions during this period, with all businesses benefiting significantly from the federal economic stimulus, which was given directly to individuals, boosting the income of lower earning members of the population. Encouragingly, the positive trading performance continued through H2, softened after the peak holiday season as we experienced an anticipated shortfall in the supply of certain key footwear styles. While supply has remained limited in the first half of the financial year, it has substantially improved and will continue to improve during the course of the year. Lower inventory has led to less promotional activity across the industry, and this has led to a growth in gross margin.
We would not expect promotional activity to revert to historical levels and so would expect to retain most of this gross margin benefit into the long term. Now I'm gonna hand you back to Kath, who will talk through our other key markets.
Thank you, Wayne. Turning to our next largest market, the UK and Republic of Ireland. Here, we delivered a combined record profit. This was achieved despite sustained COVID store closures. The enhanced flexibility of our operations and the true omnichannel nature of this business. Growth in store sales continued to be matched by significant progress online, and we have invested significantly in our store portfolio to deliver the ultimate omnichannel experience. We opened our Westfield Stratford flagship, which is the most technically advanced in our portfolio. Following the pandemic, we have seen increased recognition of the health benefits of spending time outdoors, which has driven strong demand for outdoor living and cycling categories.
To meet this, we strengthened our position in the UK premium cycling market through the acquisitions of Wheelbase and Leisure Lakes, each leading omni-channel retailers, I beg your pardon, of bicycles and associated accessories. As Neil alluded to, we are bolstering our logistics capabilities further with a new 515,000 sq ft facility in Derby, which will begin fulfillment of JD online orders later this year. Our new 65,000 sq ft warehouse near Dublin is now fully operational. Turning next to our operations in continental Europe, we have significantly increased our retail presence via new openings and acquisitions. We now have our first presence in Eastern Europe, following the opening of our first store in Hungary post-year end, and JD now has a presence in 14 markets across Europe.
This expansion is against a backdrop of difficult operational environments, with continued store closures across the continent and mixed performances on reopening. We remain confident in the long-term opportunity across the region and are committed to expanding our physical retail presence with a headline target of one store opening per week on average in Europe. Finally, in the Asia Pacific region, we're experiencing difficult COVID-related trading conditions. Australia delivered footfall closest to normal levels, and we regard the country as a very important market, trading now from 40 stores at period close. Elsewhere in the region, we opened our first store in New Zealand, and after year-end, welcomed our first 2 stores in Indonesia. Indonesia becoming JD's sixth market in Asia Pacific. Next slide, please. Let me turn our attention to M&A partnerships and omnichannel, starting with omnichannel.
As I've mentioned already, our core retail estate is an enormous asset of this business, and one that will remain key to enabling us to meet the needs of our consumers. However, we're not complacent, and we know we have to constantly raise the bar and appeal to a demanding consumer by providing them with an exciting and connected shopping experience. We are striving to strengthen our digital presence. We are leaders in marketing to the Gen Z digital native audience, and we have increased our reach to the urban consumer, in particular to our JD Christmas 2021 campaign, which was the number one Christmas ad with 22 million YouTube views, rating number one on both App Store and Android. This is a first for JD. It was the most downloaded app both on Apple and Android phones simultaneously, and we also had a 95% positive sentiment rating.
We don't stop there. We understood early the benefits of TikTok and Snap, and we are testing the data with Google to keep discovering what works. We continue to build awareness and attract our core 16-24-year-old consumer to stores through digital out-of-home signposting, and we are transforming stores to have more digital content to offer consumers the opportunity to interact with us. For example, our new store in Westfield Stratford and our new Metrocentre store in Newcastle, which opens on Saturday. These stores are seamlessly connected to all channels, mobile, our in-store app where you can scan an item of footwear from the stock room and try on in store, and our transactional kiosks. We are now an international multichannel business with multiple faces, and the group is investing in the operational foundations of our business to ensure that we remain a leader in multichannel developments.
We are well on our way in enhancing our distribution and logistics networks, which includes new facilities, as Neil mentioned, in both the UK and continental Europe. Next slide, please. Moving to partnerships. JD is the go-to partner for brands and those brands that want to reach the urban youth market. They know we understand our consumer better than anyone, with a focus on advancing and elevating urban youth culture. Whether it's through our own involvement with festivals such as Longitude in Dublin or HipHopHuis in Rotterdam, we provide a special place where brands can connect with brands, products, influencers, and consumers. We're not just limiting ourselves to music. We are exploring opportunities in gaming because the rapid rise of e-sports says we should do. We're also actively finding ways to connect with the JD consumer in the metaverse.
Because our consumers spend around 50% of their time in the digital world, it's natural for us to show up there with them and in partnership with our brands. Our unique connection with our consumers enables us to gain access to the very best products that our brand partners have to offer and allows the JD consumer to be their aspirational selves, wearing the clothes they want to wear and knowing it's the best of what's out there. Next slide, please. Moving to M&A. The group's strategic acquisitions have contributed almost GBP 126 million profit before tax to the group's record headline profit. Acquisitions will continue to be a growth engine in the future.
The group completed on a number of acquisitions and investments in the period, which look to either expand the geographical reach of its premium sports fashion operations or widen the category offer to include other products which are relevant to a style-conscious consumer. This is what we call purposeful M&A. Acquisitions should and must be highly complementary to the group's portfolio. A few in-year examples include DTLR, which enhances the group's exposure to key consumer demographics in the highly important East Coast markets in the U.S. After completion, DTLR was transferred to the same subgroup as Finish Line, JD US, and Shoe Palace. We anticipate further evolution of the property portfolio in the coming year with DTLR having the support of the international brands to expand its network of stores in its markets.
The Marketing Investment Group in Poland gives the group a presence in Central and Eastern Europe for the first time. More recently, the MIG team has acquired the trade and assets of a further 22 stores, which traded as The Athlete's Foot across Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and are all new territories for the MIG business. These stores are currently being converted to Size? The MIG team has also been instrumental in the opening of the first JD stores in Eastern Europe with stores in Poland and Romania.
Since the period end, the group has opened four further JD stores in Poland, one additional store in Romania, and our first store in Hungary. Finally, Cosmos in Greece and Cyprus gives the group its first presence in the east of the Mediterranean, which is being complemented in the current financial year by the commencement of a joint venture in Israel. We would anticipate further evolution of the property portfolio in the coming year, with Cosmos having the support of the international brands to expand its network of stores in its markets. In addition, this acquisition further provides the group with an infrastructure and management team for the development of JD in Greece and Cyprus, with the first three JD stores in Greece expected to open in the second half of this year, two in Athens and one in Thessaloniki.
Let me now hand over to Mike Armstrong, who is the JD Group Buying Director. Mike will tell you about our special and unique brand partnerships. Mike?
Thanks, Kath, and good morning, everyone. Moving specifically on to the relationships we have with our branded partners, if you could click the slide on, please. Thank you. Quite simply, the bond and relationship we have with the brands is based on a coordinated consumer-led strategy. We have a shared commitment to elevate, innovate, and connect with our consumers with the clear benefit for the brands of our ability to do this at scale. Our side of the bargain as a retailer is that we will continue to set the global standards for connected and elevated consumer experiences and access to the best and most relevant product from the world's most authentic brands where and when our consumers want it. This is the case today and will continue to be the case in the JD of the future. It's our obsession.
We are in a unique position. We've got a clear, simple, effective, and consistent strategy. We are differentiated from our competitors, and we have a brand that is powerful enough in conjunction with our branded partners to be able to shape the marketplace of the future. As a team, we are 100% committed to maintaining the momentum, delivering against the strategy, and ensuring that our consumer-facing proposition is as compelling and relevant as our consumers would expect from us season in and season out. As we move forward, this is what will drive and reaffirm the partnerships that we have. Next slide, please. Thank you. As I mentioned, our relationship with the brands is built on a strategy and our ability to execute, and this is a slide we share with the brands on a regular basis.
The strategy framework illustrates how we will continue to shape the future of the business and outlines our approach to our consumers, our capabilities, and our connections. It also provides the framework for the alignment we have with the brands. First, and most importantly, our consumers. We believe that the JD global consumer mindset represents the future of the category we operate in. We are a global player, and like our consumers, we have a global mindset, but the execution is defined by our consumers in their own communities. No other retailer in our space has proven to be as adept at delivering what our consumers are looking for wherever they are, and this global mindset gives us a distinct advantage.
As well as this, the JD model allows us to serve multiple consumer groups and communities within each of the markets we serve through different banners and experiences. Our focus on innovation to drive a real, easy, and fast shopping experience, combined with some of the best retail locations in the world, sets us up for daily success. From a brand delivery standpoint, we are consumer-led in everything that we do. We are digitally driven in our approach to a connected retail marketplace. We are membership enabled, which allows us to rely on consumer data and analytics in every aspect of our business. This is an area we are investing in and developing further. The JD brand continues to drive growth by reaching new consumers through acquisition.
Finally, we also continue to invest in digital and the supply chain capabilities that complement and connect to our physical retail locations. Next slide, please. As we've mentioned, we are clearly differentiated from our competitors, but what differentiates the JD brand can be simplified into three key categories. Our unique brand perspective is grounded in our understanding of our consumers, and it allows us to connect with them in ways our competitors can't. The JD brand also has a relentless focus on utilizing the power of stores to build memorable retail experience. We have the ability to engage with consumers across multiple categories and all genders. Finally, as digital leaders in the category, we continue to drive connection and commerce through our connected retail infrastructure and membership strategies, which moving forward will include an even closer relationship with our branded partners. Next slide, please.
what really drives our unique consumer connection is that we are the category destination for apparel. By default, this makes us the head-to-toe retailer of choice. No other retailer in our space offers brands and consumers this opportunity. Next slide, please. So as far as our banner strategy is concerned, and as Wayne's already mentioned, the acquisitions of Shoe Palace and DTLR provide us with the perfect East Coast, West Coast complement to the US JD Finish Line business. Size? and Footpatrol offers access to top-tier distribution from the brands. Sprinter offers us a scalable sporting goods banner in under-penetrated markets. Yet again, we are in a unique position as we can offer both consumers and brands multiple touchpoints. Next slide, please. So with any trip into the marketplace, it's clear to see that we are in a pretty favorable position.
The product proposition, our elevated retail experience, which showcases the brands in premium and exciting environments, our differentiated positioning and the benefit to the brands that our scale across multiple territories brings results in the fact that parceled up, the privileges rewarded to us by the brands are unparalleled. We have product exclusivity predominantly through our special makeup facility we have with the brands in all categories, which allows us to create bespoke product catering to exactly what our consumers want. This benefit is afforded to us because we have a far closer and more direct relationship with our consumer than the brands have. This gives us a deep understanding of what they want from us, and we're happy to share this knowledge with the brands. We have close-to-market programs which allow us to be reactive to trends. We are prioritized on allocations.
We have full product access across the banners due to our store portfolio strategy, and we also benefit from the segmentation strategies that are implemented by all the brands to ensure the marketplace is differentiated. Next slide, please. Just before I finish up and hand back to Kath, some of the, you know, highlights of where we are currently with our most significant partners are highlighted here. Growth commitments are in place, improvements are looking likely in the supply chain and ongoing changes to the brand segmentation and distribution policies will continue to benefit the JD Group. To sum up, we are as wedded to the brands as they are to us. Our strategy is robust, the model scalable, and we are differentiated. Our consumer connection is unique.
We are well positioned and more than capable of being able to build on the incredibly solid foundations that we have, and our relationships with our key suppliers to our business have never been stronger. I will now hand you back to Kath for closing remarks.
Thank you very much, Mike. To conclude, I'd like to share a few reflections on what makes JD a success. We have a laser focus on the consumer. The ongoing strength of the business is embedded in this focus. Our teams live and breathe our target market and know our consumer better than any competitor. We have a differentiated product which allows us to ensure we curate the right product offering to our consumers. We ensure it's differentiated by consumer taste, by market and by geographic region. Our fully integrated omni-channel approach enables us to reach the consumer wherever they are and wherever they wish to shop through our many facias in-store, online, through our apps and via our social channels.
We believe we have created a winning formula at the heart of which is JD, the group's largest and most profitable fascia and a brand and retail led business that is considered the best in the world. We reach our consumer through our five pillars and we have global reach which continues to expand through our strategic M&A function focused on acquiring businesses that complement our strategic aims. Underpinning everything we do at JD are our unique partnerships with our brands. We believe these represent the engine that will propel and power this business into the bright future we envisage for this group and of course our people. Highly motivated, loyal and experienced teams who continually set the bar for retail and consumer experiences through best in class operations. It is JD's people who make JD perform at its best.
To provide a view on the outlook for the current financial year, let me hand back to Helen.
Thanks, Kath. In summary, we've made outstanding progress in the year to January 2022. Again, our thanks goes to Peter for his leadership and passion, which has positioned JD so fantastically to enable us to take advantage of the opportunities that we see ahead. JD is a globally recognized iconic multi-channel retailer with a proven strategy and clear momentum. We are not changing that focus and we continue to build the business at the pace everyone recognizes as JD pace. We're reassured with the ongoing trading to date this year despite what we recognize as being a challenging environment. We expect profit for the year to January 2023 to be in line with the record profit which we delivered in the year to January 2022. That concludes our presentation this morning.
I'll now hand you back to the operator and we will be pleased to take your questions. As we, as a team, are spread globally, I will chair the questions and hand to the appropriate person to answer those for you.
As a reminder, if you'd like to register a question, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. If you change your mind, please press star followed by two, and please ensure you're unmuted when speaking. Our first question comes from Jonathan Pritchard of Peel Hunt. Jonathan, please go ahead.
Thank you. Yeah, morning. Morning, all. Couple of things that Wayne and Mike said just sort of piqued my interest. Could Wayne perhaps talk a little bit about the Status program and CRM, perhaps expand a little bit on that and whether he's happy with social media and that sort of following, that sort of thing? That's one. For Mike, he mentioned, I think a little bit sort of data exchange, information exchange. How much is that a sort of point of difference or a sort of key differentiator with the brands? Just a little bit of detail on that. Just finally on inflation, product inflation and elasticity, is there a risk that the odd pound on a pair of trainers here and there might actually impact volumes?
Do we think that it's fully inelastic?
All right. Thanks for that. Thanks for that. Should we go inflation first? Neil, do you want to pick that up?
Yeah, sure. You know, our consumers, as you know, is motivated by desire. You know, there have been price increases of products this year as everyone knows, you know, in kind of mid-single digits. You know, we're pretty encouraged with the resilience that we're seeing from the consumer so far. You know, their appetite for our products seems undiminished at this moment.
Okay, thank you. Wayne, do you want to pick up the question, I guess, about the CRM and the loyalty program over in the U.S.?
The CRM is a major part of our strategy in terms of our understanding of our consumer in greater detail and therefore staying connected to our consumer in greater detail. It allows us to accurately target and spend our marketing dollars more accurately in terms of reaching our consumer and the consumer that regularly spends with us. Very valuable in terms of data-driven marketing activity. In terms of Status is a core part of that. Finish Line did have a very good loyalty program, but it was just very outdated, and it was margin erosional. It was way too expensive for us to continue down that line, but we realized how valuable that play was. Status was a move on.
It was a modernization of the program, which is more experiential than cash driven. Nowhere near in terms of its cost to us, it's a fraction of what it used to be to Finish Line. Yeah, a very, very valuable part of our play, and we continue to recruit consumers into the STATUS loyalty program. When we talk about active members as well, a lot of businesses report active members over a two-year period, but the 5 million that I quoted is active over a year and is multiple purchases. If you go back to the overall program membership itself, it's over 31 million. A massive program for us and a major move on.
Thanks. Thanks, Wayne. I think your third question, Jonathan, was around, I guess, data sharing and partner programs. I should pass that to you, Mike.
Yeah, Jonathan. We are expanding the partner programs that we have with the brands, so expanding its reach with some of the other partner brands that we have this year. Really, it's as simple as that.
Great. Thank you. All right. Next question, please.
Our next question comes from Kate Calvert of Investec. Kate, please go ahead.
Hi, Kate.
Hi. Morning, everyone. Just a couple from me.
Morning.
The first question is on your CapEx plans for the year. Could you expand in terms of the number of JD stores you're expecting to open by region in the UK, US, Europe and Asia? The second question is on the US. With more supply coming through from the brands, are you yet seeing any pickup in promotional activity in the US yet? And what are your expectations potentially for the second half? The final question is probably for you, Helen. When you last spoke, you mentioned that the process of hiring new CEO would take to the end of the summer. Given you've got new candidates coming in, is that still a fair timeline?
Okay. Well, I'll go first with that one. Thanks, Kate. We're well advanced now in the search for the CEO. That started some months ago now. We've had some new candidates that have come into the process in the last month or so. As you would expect, we're making sure that we, you know, consider all of the candidates. We've got some really strong candidates in the running, but you'll appreciate that, as a board, it's probably one of the most key decisions that we're gonna make. We need to make sure we get the right person, the right cultural fit, somebody who's really gonna take advantage of the opportunities we have ahead of us.
We continue at pace, and we want to get somebody in place ASAP, but equally, you know, we want the right person. We will update as and when we are comfortable that we have the right candidate. The same is the case as well for the non-exec chair process. Neil, do you want to pick up the CapEx question?
Yeah, sure. In terms of the UK, it might not necessarily be additional stores as such. You know, there's a lot of relocations that we're doing to move us into bigger stores. In key malls. You know, as Kath said, we've got Metrocentre opening this week, for example. The advantage of doing that is, you know, there are opportunities to get additional space at, you know, good economic rents at the moment. It gives us the opportunity to expand the apparel mix in stores in particular. That'll be most of the focus in terms of the UK.
Plus, you know, with the other stores, just, you know, refreshing them, making sure that we've got the latest technology in there, you know, that the consumer experience is consistent. In terms of Europe, you know, we've got the target of one store a week on average across Western Europe. Initial openings in Eastern Europe. Then as Kath said, we've got three stores due to open in Greece this year as well. Asia Pac openings, more focused probably around Australia, still, where we, you know, we still see good opportunity. Then North America, two aspects really to the spend there.
One is, we are converting existing Finish Line doors, but we're also relocating a number of stores, again, taking advantage of the property market and, you know, looking to be in the prime positions, you know, within those premium malls. The final question was on U.S. promotion activity.
Yes
Wasn't it? Wayne, do you want to talk about that?
Sorry, can you repeat the question, Kate? I think it broke up a little bit from my side.
Yeah, sure. You've obviously got more supply coming back into the market from the brand, you have benefited from much higher gross margin. Are you-
Yeah
... yet seeing the pickup in the promotional environment in the U.S. as a result of more stock coming back in?
I think as you know very well because you studied the market very well, it's always been a very competitive market. I think COVID changed the dynamics of it a little bit and supply into the market meant that there was fewer promotions. It still is, even today, even with the tighter products at the start of the year, you've still got a lot of promotional activity from the likes of Foot Locker coming out of Nike really, and also the brands themselves, in particular Adidas. I think what we tend to do, you know, from a differentiation perspective, it means that we don't have to follow suit in terms of coupon offers or ticketed offers in any way.
Yeah, you know, just like anybody else, as part of our inventory management, you know, we do throw the odd offer out there. From our perspective, no, we, with margins strong, we don't see that changing much. We see our position strengthening substantially as we continue into the remainder of this year. No, from our perspective, every message we put out to the consumer is about premium retail. Yes, you know, there is heightened activity in the marketplace. That's nothing new for the U.S.
Thanks, Wayne.
Yeah.
Okay. Thanks, Kate. Next question, please.
Our next question comes from Graeme Renwick of Berenberg. Graeme, please go ahead.
Hi, Graeme.
Hello. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking my questions. Just have three, if that's okay. Just on US profitability, so you said you did a margin of 14% across the year. I think you were at 18% in H1, so it implies H2 sort of stepped down to 10% or below, and that's obviously despite promotional activity remaining quite low. Just wanted to know the reasons for that step down in profitability and then, you know, where should we assume margins? You know, what margins you aiming for fiscal 2023, and how should we think about that developing in the midterm? That's the first question. Secondly on inventory, so at year-end, end of January, you were down on an underlying basis.
Where is your inventory positioning today, and how much growth are you buying for across H2? I guess more generally, you know, how are you feeling about the pipeline of new product launches across the second half, as supply constraints are easing? Lastly on cash, you obviously have a very strong position. You don't typically pay a big dividend or do buybacks, and you're generating cash far in excess of your CapEx requirements. You know, how should we be thinking about the uses of that cash? You know, should we be expecting more larger scale M&A, like we saw last year, particularly in this tougher market environment, and what would be your priorities there? Thank you.
Thanks for those, Graeme. I think there was a sneaky extra one in there. I think there were four questions, not three, but we'll let you off. Neil, do you wanna pick up the one around U.S. profitability first half versus second half margin into 2023?
Yeah, no problem. Yes, the first half margin was exceptionally strong, but that was consistent with the fact that the strong growth that we saw that came through from the stimulus was very much focused in stores. You know, you had exceptional leverage from what is largely a fixed cost base. Second half of the year was probably more normal in that regard. Obviously towards the end of the year, it tailed off as the supply chain challenges started to have an impact. You know, where do we see U.S. margins kind of long term? You know, we've previously said, you know, where we're at at the moment, you know, in terms of say, low teens, you know, we think that's. You know, that's sensible.
You know, our target, you know, initially when we acquired Finish Line was to get it to 10% and we've, you know, we've gone further than we expected, faster than we expected. To take it beyond level, you know, these levels, you know, it's really as we've talked before about, you know, getting the apparel sales in particular, motoring within that market.
Do you want to pick up as well around the inventory position, underlying position, at year-end versus where we are today?
Yeah. I mean, inventory positions at the moment are normalizing. You know, we've got, you know, certainly in our two biggest markets of Europe and U.S., you know, we've got more stock than we had this time last year. You know, footwear in particular that's been in shorter supply is certainly more normalized now, and that position will continue to improve during the course of the year.
Mike, do you wanna pick up on, I guess, product launches for the second half and how you're feeling about that?
Yeah. I mean, obviously launches are more dominated by the footwear business. We've got a pretty well-balanced portfolio of brands and categories that we operate in, so we aren't massively reliant on launch products in any case. That being said, with the improvements that are looking really likely in footwear as we head into the second half, yes, there's certainly more newness and availability of that product coming through the second half. Yeah, there is an upside there.
Super. Thank you. Neil, how are you thinking about using all your cash?
Yeah. You're right. You know, we do keep dividend modest and you know, we do like to retain the cash in the business 'cause we think you know, we've demonstrated over a number of years that we invest cash in the right places. You know, we're certainly not gonna talk about any specific M&A activity, but you know, we'll be using the money to you know, invest in the business both the retail estate technology, improving the consumer experience with selective M&A as appropriate.
Okay. Hopefully, that answers your questions, Graeme. Next question, please.
Our next question comes from Georgina Johanan of JP Morgan. Georgina, please go ahead.
Hi. Good morning. Thank you. Neil, I have two questions, please. The first one, just on current trading. I think if we compare your update today to the update you gave last month, it does seem to imply a slight slowdown over the last month. Neil, I guess given your comments that your consumer is holding up relatively well so far, could you just comment on what's driving that difference over the last month? Secondly, on the US, could you just break down kind of what your guidance really assumes for sales development in the US and how that compares to front half versus second half?
Maybe whether you've started to see any signs of improvement in the U.S. top line over the last couple of weeks as inventories are starting to improve and I guess you're moving away from some of the very, very tough comps from last year. Thank you.
All right. Thanks, Georgina. It sounds like two for you, Neil.
Yeah. In terms of current trading, the last update that we gave before today was at the end of Q1. In terms of the UK, you're right. You know, we did say it was a bit more than 5% and it's now at 5%. You know, well done on picking that one up. I suppose the main reason for that is a slight slowdown in the UK. The UK at the time after Q1 was closer to 10% than it is now. I wouldn't read anything into that. Two main factors to discuss. One is, last year, May was very strong. We were still in the kind of opening bubble that came through when the stores reopened.
you know, England reopened 12th of April, but Scotland, for example, didn't come through until the 26th, I think it was. there was still a strong pre-opening bubble in May. Plus obviously 12 months ago, we were also through the course of May building up to the Euros football tournament, which, you know, that does bring some kind of volatility, you know, every two years or so when you have those football tournaments. In terms of U.S. and what we're assuming, we are expecting U.S. to drop back in the first half of the year. you know, that's not surprising given the impact of the stimulus.
You know, U.S. sales are probably, you know, relative to last year, kind of mid-teens or something like that below where they were 12 months ago. You know, that will start to ease. You know, it's interesting. I've said to other people this morning, last week was the first week actually in the U.S. this year that we were actually ahead of last year, which is, you know, which is consistent with that stimulus running out of steam 12 months ago. Here on in, we're probably assuming kind of probably flat on last year through to the rest of the year.
Okay. Thanks.
Thank you very much.
Thanks, Neil.
Next question, please.
Our next question comes from Charlie Muir-Sands of BNP Paribas. Charlie, please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks very much. Congratulations. The first thing was I just wanted to go back to your group level guidance. I know you've talked through your geography so far, including just in the last answer. Just sort of overall, in order to reach flat profits for the year, what roughly do you need to achieve in like flat businesses in the remaining eight-ish months you've got left to run? Secondly, in the U.S., you've stated that expectation you can retain most of the gross margin gains from lower markdown. I just wondered what makes you think that the industry structure has changed so much that you know promotional levels of activity will be much lower and therefore gross margin benefits that you reaped during tight periods of inventory are gonna be retained.
Finally, just also staying with the US, you talked about some of the activities around back office synergies that you're driving through. I just wondered if you had any sense of what the scale of the benefits will be as you deliver those. Thank you.
Thanks for that, Charlie. I think, let's pass all three of those off to Neil, if we can.
In terms of the guidance for the rest of the year and flat profit, it's really consistent with probably sales levels broadly consistent with last year. Yes, that gives us incremental GPV, but you know, we're assuming that gets offset by incremental cost in the business, largely coming through from labor, utilities. Plus we've got obviously there's some kind of pre-opening, significant pre-opening costs, you know, relating to some of the warehouse developments, et cetera, that we're doing. That's the kind of shape there. In terms of U.S. structural change, then, there's fewer competitors within the market, I suppose.
You know, there has been quite significant consolidation within the U.S. and some of the smaller operators have been, you know, seeing their supply reduced or potentially even eliminated. That's led to a consolidation, particularly within malls, where, you know, certainly when we first went into the U.S. in 2018, Nike was overexposed in that mall environment. You know, there's been a real focus on reducing that down. Primarily so it raises standards for the consumer. You know, so you've got businesses who are focused on, you know, say that the benefits for the consumer.
In terms of U.S. back office synergies, a lot of them are operational nature rather than cash focused. They're more about, again, you know, by sharing in, you know, warehouses, inventory systems, et cetera, it just means that you can fulfill online orders to the consumer quicker, you know, because you can select products from, you know, the nearest warehouse, et cetera. It's more about enhancing the consumer benefit, which you'd hope, you know, would lead to top line benefit further on rather than it being necessarily a cost saving initiative.
Great. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. Next question.
Our next question comes from Simon Irwin of Credit Suisse. Simon, please go ahead.
Good morning, everyone. Can I ask three questions? First, I guess it's for Cath, is just in terms of thinking about the long term structure of the business and the industry, you're obviously very reliant on one big player, which is increasing D2C. And at the same time, the market does appear to be fragmenting into smaller brands. So can you just talk about kind of how you see that evolution playing out for your business in particular? The second, which I guess is probably for Helen, is just if you can just talk a little bit about, you know, whether there are any other issues kind of in the background that we don't know about.
Obviously, there's, you know, the three CMA issues with Footasylum and two on shirts and a very small issue around the FCA. Can you just kind of confirm to the market that there's nothing else that we should be aware of, that you know of? Thirdly, Neil, if you can just take us through the Genesis Topco issues in terms of that provision and how that relates to the Rubin family.
Okay, no worries. Simon, I'll go first. As you're aware, we've been working on the different, you know, governance streams now for a good six or seven months. We have been very thorough in really making sure that we assess our compliance with certainly the corporate governance code, but also all of the other regulatory standards as well that you would expect. KPMG also have been, you know, very thorough within their scope of their work, given the complexities of the business and obviously the number of acquisitions that we've been doing.
I would say that we have done a pretty thorough deep dive to really understand as a business where we are and baseline that position and then come up with a plan over the next 18 months that will take us on a journey to get us to a place where as a board, you know, we feel is appropriate for JD and also the size and scale of the business going forward. That is going to be an ongoing journey. You can never say never, because it would be remiss of me to say that we will ever see any other issues. But from what we know today, with all of the work we've done, you know, we have a good handle of where we are and what, you know, what's happening.
We recognize that if there was anything more significant, then of course, we would have had to have flagged that already. As a board, you know, we were uncomfortable, but you know, we know as much as we can, given the depth of the investigation work that we've done. Neil, do you want to pick up on Genesis put calls?
Yeah. You're presumably referring to the put option charge, which is a good bit of technical accounting that really relates to the fact that, you know, obviously in a put option, we're not in control of that. Though those minorities who do have puts, you know, they could put on those at some stage in the future at the time of their choosing. From a technical accounting perspective, you need to recognize the liability of that. Given how the U.S. business has performed in the year, then that flows out into, you know, say, future forecasts, et cetera. By definition, you know what you may have to pay in the future based on, you know, your formulaic calculation of earn-outs and options, et cetera.
That value goes up and so you end up with a charge accordingly. It is somewhat odd that it goes through P&L, but that's accounting for you. As and when options get exercised, whether we call or they put, then this charge effectively reverses.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
Kath, do you want to pick up around, I guess, our longer term structure and the brands?
Sure. Well, Hi, Simon. As I alluded to in the presentation, you know, what we're doing and how we're doing it and our strategy, you know, isn't gonna change right now. Obviously, when a new chief exec comes on board, they may have some ideas of slightly amending the organizational structure. Right now, it absolutely fits the purpose. That's one thing. The other thing is that you mentioned the one big player who's got a heavy duty D2C strategy. There are a number of big players. Of course, there's one that we know about.
I would say that having had getting on for 10 conversations with them in the last four weeks, that they are every bit as focused on their wholesale partners and wholesale business as they are their D2C proposition. As far as the smaller brands coming through into the marketplace, your point there is concerned, there are always small niche brands coming through. JD's read on the market is exceptionally strong, and so they know which brands to partner with and which brands to pass on. What we're doing constantly is nurturing those brands that offer the greatest potential for JD.
Perfect. Thanks, Kath.
Thank you very much, everyone.
Okay. Bye. Okay, next question, please.
Our next question comes from Edouard Aubin of Morgan Stanley. Edouard, please go ahead.
Yeah, good morning, guys. Two questions from me on specifically on the US, I guess for Wayne or Neil. The first one is if we could get an update, please, on the conversion and integration process in terms of top and bottom line uplift, either from your conversion of Finish Line to JD stores or the integration of DTLR and Shoe Palace. That would be helpful, number one. Number two, in the US, I know there is no good market share data out there. But could you please give us a rough range and an approximate range of where you think you are in the US and, if possible, how it compares to the UK?
Is there any structural reason for your market share in the US long term not to be in line with the rest of the data of the UK? Thank you.
Okay. Wayne, should we go to you first around market share situation?
I think the acquisition of the two players on the East and the West give us a massively broadened consumer appeal. We're able now to get right into the heart of some of the more ethnic communities. With JD staying as the major core player through the bigger malls and the bigger high streets in the U.S., if we go back to just that position, then JD would have been restricted in terms of what it could have achieved over the long term. Actually, with the acquisition of DTLR and Shoe Palace, that means now we're relatively unrestricted in terms of our reach. If you know America well, you'll know that it isn't just about the mall locations.
The street locations, as we refer to them, are not like European street locations. These are strip malls, and there are thousands of them. JD couldn't exist in a lot of them, whereas DTLR and Shoe Palace can and do because of their community reach. I suppose in terms of our market share, you know, I opened my session by saying that there's a massive growth potential, and there is. There are still at least 150
Premium malls that JD needs to go to and look at, and we're constantly looking at. You'll see in the 65 doors that we're gonna open this year, you'll see a lot of new doors in the big malls, the Aventura, the West Coast Plazas, et cetera, et cetera. There's a lot coming up in terms of JD's movement, and we've also got permission to grow from a street and a community perspective both from DTLR and Shoe Palace. I can't see, you know, in terms of our growth, in terms of our expectations, we're very ambitious and really, that's all I can say. The expansion potential is phenomenal, and it's only going to be restricted by our relationship with the brands and their willingness to allow us to grow and expand.
At the moment, brands are very, very friendly to JD's growth and certainly that of its subdivisions, DTLR and Shoe Palace.
Amazing. Thanks. Thanks for that, Wayne. Neil, do you want to pick up the question on, I guess, integration and store conversion in the US?
Yeah. You know, we've said publicly before that, you know, we see uplifts of around 20% when we're doing these conversions and, you know, that's unchanged. You know, we do see that kind of growth.
Perfect. Okay. Thank you. Next question, please.
Our next question comes from Richard Chamberlain of RBC. Richard, please go ahead.
Thanks very much. Two from me please, guys. I wondered if you could just comment a bit more specifically on the performance of the recent U.S. acquisitions in the year-to-date performance, Shoe Palace and DTLR. Second, I guess, Neil, what sort of cash flow impacts would you expect from the exceptionals that we're seeing today? I think it's note three, isn't it? That goes through those. I presume none on this sort of fair value movement of the put options. What are the sort of likely cash flow impacts of the exceptionals is the question. Thanks.
Thanks, Richard. I think both of those to you, Neil.
Yeah, they are. In terms of Shoe Palace and DTLR, pretty consistent really with how Finish Line is performing really. Shoe Palace has a lower mix of apparel within its business or historically has had a lower mix of apparel in its business. That's been perhaps more impacted by you know shortage in or you know like availability of footwear. But you know its apparel mix has been growing you know substantially. It's over 10% now. DTLR naturally has more apparel. It's over 20% in the mix, so it's had a bit more. It's been a little more sheltered from you know some of the footwear challenges this year.
Broadly, the two businesses have tracked very consistently with Finish Line. In terms of the cash flow impacts for the exceptionals, there's kind of none at the moment, if that makes sense. The fair value of the put options, that's a non-cash charge. As I say, it only becomes cash as and when options get exercised and, you know, we acquire some or all of that minority share. The other two items, they were cash movements within the year.
Okay. Thanks, Neil. Just back on the US then, is there an FX benefit or more of an FX benefit now in the sort of reiterated guidance, I guess, for the year because of the weaker sterling trend? I mean, I guess you'll have a bit of headwind sort of own label sourcing and so on. I presume there's more of a US dollar benefit now, is there in the guidance?
Yeah. You've got to be careful about looking at FX because it's incredibly volatile. If you look at where the FX rate was for the dollar at the start of last year and where it ended up, you know, these things can move very quickly and unpredictably. You've also got to remember as well that we've got quite a substantial, you know, European business as well. There is some kind of offset, you know, in terms of how euros go as well. I wouldn't read too much into FX movements.
All right. Thanks so much, Richard.
Thank you.
I think we've got time for one last question.
Our final question comes from Olivia Townsend of UBS. Olivia, the line is yours.
I have a short question. First one just on return rates. I appreciate return rates dynamics for footwear are a bit different to fashion, but, given comments from some other UK retailers recently about increasing return rates, and the potential for that to be linked to consumer weakness, seen any change there, over the last one or two months? Secondly, on use of, deferred payment methods, again, sort of linked to the first question around consumer weakness. I'm just wondering if you've seen any sort of meaningful uplift in consumers using, Klarna, Clearpay, that kind of thing over the last few weeks. Finally, just a clarification point around U.S. comps. Could you just remind us, of the Q3 and Q4, like-for-like comps and how those compare to the same period from last year? Thank you.
Neil, do you want to pick up those three?
Yeah. In terms of the return rates, then there's nothing to see there. We've not seen any increase, you know, in return rates either, online or into store. In terms of your question on deferred payment methods, that's something that we offer online only. We don't do that. We don't offer that in store. You know, we offer that 'cause it gives the consumer choice on, you know, in terms of different payment options and it gives them, you know, they choose the option that's right for them. That has been a small uplift, I suppose, but nothing noticeable. It's not accelerated, if that's the point that you're making.
It's become a more popular payment method over a number of years and, you know, trends are, you know, just kinda continuing on that. Then in terms of comparisons for last year, obviously we had the phenomenal growth in the first half of last year. Then second half of the year was broadly flat on the previous year. You know, it's the same in all markets really. The second half of the year is probably the first time in three years really when we're kind of clean on clean really, you know, from a one-year perspective and, you know, we'll be able to get a true read on performance then.
Okay. Perfect. Well, thank you very much for all of your questions, and thank you for joining us this morning, and have an amazing rest of your day. Thank you very much.
This concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.