A shift of focus to online sales and Covid-19 financial support from the Government helped Footasylum return to making a pre-tax profit during 2020, new documents have revealed.
The Bury-headquartered company has reported a profit of £348,000 for the 12 months to January 30, 2021, up from a loss of £6.3m during its prior year.
The business has also reported a revenue of £232m for the 12 months, down from £248.7m because of the enforced store closures.
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The company's shops accounted for 41% of its revenue during the year, down from 62%, while its online sales made up 54%, a rise from 34%. Wholesale totalled 5%, up from 3%.
The business said the shift in revenue steams was a direct result of Covid-19 Government guidelines and the closure of no-essential stores throughout the year.
Footasylum's underlying EBITDA went from £25.4m to £29.3m during the 12 months.
The accounts come only five months after it filed its results for its year to February 1, 2020.
A statement signed off by the board said: "The pandemic has accelerated the shift of our bricks and mortar consumers to digital.
"This shift, along with Government assistance, has helped Footasylum maintain profitability and relevance throughout the pandemic, shielding the group from lost revenues caused by forced store closures.
"For FY22, the group is planning to maintain a similar level of its store base and store performance, with continued growth in profitability.
"The group will continue to focus on robust cost control, streamlining and improvements to delivery efficiencies and savings."
The results have been filed with Companies House while Footasylum's acquisition by JD Sports is still facing opposition by the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA).
JD Sports Fashion snapped up the entire share capital of Footasylum in 2019 before the CMA concluded in May 2020 that the merger would result in a "substantial lessening of competition".
Although JD Sports has already bought Footasylum, the two businesses are currently held separate.
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The CMA decided that JD Sports should sell the company in its entirety but in November last year the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) quashed that order.
The watchdog then appealed that decision in December 2020 but the Court of Appeal rejected the move.
The CMA is currently continuing to reconsider the merger.
