UK's Frasers lowers top end of profit outlook, blames government budget

LONDON (Reuters) - Frasers, the British sportswear and fashion retailer that is majority owned by Mike Ashley, lowered the top end of its annual profit guidance, blaming weaker consumer confidence leading up to and following the government's budget.

Formerly called Sports Direct, the group on Thursday said it was now forecasting adjusted pretax profit for its 2024/25 year of 550 million pounds to 600 million pounds ($699-$763 million) versus previous guidance of 575-625 million pounds. It made 299.1 million pounds on the same basis in its first half, down 1.5%.

($1 = 0.7864 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Sarah Young)