JD Sports paid out €18m in year it got €1.3m from Covid wage subsidy scheme

JD Sports posted pre-tax profits of almost €24m in the 12 months to the end of January this year.

The main Irish unit of sports retailer JD Sports paid out a dividend of €18m in the financial year it received Government Covid-19 wage grants of €1.3m.

That is according to new accounts for John David Sports Fashion Ireland Ltd which show it posted pre-tax profits of almost €24m in the 12 months to the end of January this year. It operates 19 outlets in Ireland. 

The accounts don’t disclose the nature of the Government grants received last year. 

However, Revenue figures show that John David Sports Fashion Ireland Ltd availed of the temporary wage subsidy scheme but not its successor, the employment wage subsidy scheme.  

A spokesman for the UK-owned JD Sports declined to comment. 

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar last week said that companies which availed of Covid-19 wage subsidy payments and which were in a position to pay substantial dividends" should repay the supports.