Ashley's income hit as Sports Direct cuts divi

Controverisal rag trader Mike Ashley will have to rub along on dividend payments of less than £15 million this year after shareholder payouts were cut from from his Sports Direct group.

The company behind the bargain basement Sports World retailer and the Lillywhites on Piccadilly said today it is slashing its interim dividend by 40% to 1.22p.

It also targeted a final dividend of 2.44p which would mean a total payout for the year around 20% down.

That represents a payout hit of about £3.5 million for Ashley, Sports Direct's 70% shareholder, who is reckoned to have blown much of the £900 million he made from floating the company, buying Newcastle United on the way.

The value of his holding in Sports Direct has cratered since that float at 300p nearly two years ago. The stock was up 1¾p today at 37½p.

The group reported a better-than-feared profit increase of 7% to £89 million.

Philip Dorgan, analyst at Panmure Gordon, said that figure is flattering as underlying profits have fallen 20% but added: "This is a small step on the road to the restoration of credibility."