Accent Group shares dive on guidance downgrade
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More news: Accent Group shares tumbled in morning trade after the footwear retailer downgraded its earnings guidance following softer-than-expected sales during the start of FY26.
Accent shares were down 10.4% to $1.08 at 12:25pm AEDT, taking 12-month losses to 52%.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Wei-Weng Chen called it a "very soft update" with a "large downgrade to guidance", both in the first and second-half periods.
On a full-year basis, the revised guidance represents a 23% downgrade to consensus expectations, Chen said.
Accent Group downgrades FY26 guidance as like-for-like sales slide
The news: Hype DC and Platypus owner Accent Group downgraded its earnings guidance after reporting a drop in like-for-like retail sales during the first 20 weeks of FY26.
The numbers: Accent reported a 3.7% year-on-year lift in total sales for the first 20 weeks of the 2026 financial year, but like-for-like retail sales fell 0.4%.
As of 31 October, the company's year-to-date gross margin was 160 basis points, down 1.6% compared to the prior corresponding period. The group said the downturn reflected an elevated promotional environment.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) are expected to be $55-$60 million for the first-half period and $85-$95 million for the full year. The company had previously guided "high single digit" EBIT growth in FY26, compared to its FY25 result of $110.2 million.
The context: Accent said retail market conditions "remain challenging". The sports category has continued to perform well, it said, particularly in running and performance footwear at The Athletes Foot and the group's distributed brands HOKA, Saucony and Merrell.
However, lifestyle footwear sales have been "soft and below expectations", the company noted.
Accent also announced that it will discontinue the operations of its MySale business, which was acquired in May, as part of its strategic partnership with UK retailer Frasers Group.
Closure of MySale is expected in early Q3. The business had recorded EBIT losses of $3.48 million as at 31 October.
The source: ASX
