When a stock market announcement comes through from Frasers Group, formerly known as Sports Direct, you never know what to expect. A rant from founder Mike Ashley at landlords, the government or his rivals? A shiny new acquisition? The resignation of its auditor

Yesterday’s late-afternoon filing was to announce that its annual results would be delayed. Again. 

The fashion group’s results were due on Thursday but will now be posted next week, which the firm said was due to IFRS 16 disclosures “still being completed and reviewed”. That’s the new financial reporting standard IFRS 16 that came into force on January 1, 2019.

It is not like Frasers Group has not had enough time to prepare for this new standard.

“To delay annual results once is bad, to do it two years in a row is ridiculous. It is the corporate version of a kid who has not done their homework”

Of course, it’s not the first time Sports Direct – sorry, Frasers Group (although you’d be forgiven for using its old company name given its corporate website is still branded Sports Direct eight months after officially changing it) – has delayed its full-year results.

You might remember the farce that surrounded its 2019 annual results. Those were also delayed by a week and, when the stock market announcements landed at 7am on the rescheduled date, the results were nowhere to be seen and all planned calls with the media and City analysts were cancelled. 

The results were eventually released late in the day after the stock market had closed and it transpired that a €674m Belgian tax bill had sparked the delay. 

Both Sports Direct’s chief financial officer Jon Kempster and auditor Grant Thornton resigned in the wake of the chaos and shareholder advisory firm Pirc called the company “an embarrassment to UK corporate governance”.

No laughing matter

A circus has always surrounded the company thanks to its larger-than-life founder and chief executive. And while the perma-delayed results may seem comical, it is no laughing matter.

If this were any other listed company there would be outrage. To delay annual results once is bad, to do it two years in a row is ridiculous. It is the corporate version of a kid who has not done their homework. What excuse will they come up with next?

Ashley may own around 60% of Frasers, but it is a listed company and it has a duty to its other shareholders. The chaos surrounding the business does it no favours. It impacts confidence in its ability to deliver results.

“Perhaps Ashley and co could get away with this if it were the stock market star it once was, but times have changed”

One may argue that someone who invests in Ashley’s company expects the unconventional, but this is not just unconventional – it’s unprofessional.

Perhaps Ashley and co could get away with this if it were the stock market star it once was. But times have changed and its share price is no longer threatening to topple 1,000p per share as it was in 2014. It is just 283p a share today, almost a third of that of rival JD Sports.

Meanwhile, investors are increasingly looking beyond return on investment when it comes to the stock they back. Investing in ethical, purpose-led, environmentally conscious firms is becoming more desirable than ever – just look at the share price hit that the highly profitable Boohoo took after modern slavery allegations emerged last month.

It is time for Frasers to clean up its act – or risk becoming uninvestable.